Never Ending Journey
by Changeofname
Summary: Jack always wanted to leave Pallet Town. Watch him as he makes his way through the bloody world of pokemon, hounded by Team Rocket and helplessly caught up in the schemes of powerful men. Will he make it? First fanfic PLEASE R&R COMPLETE!
1. Freedom

Pallet Town was very, very small. It was so small that it barely even qualified as a town with its population of one thousand people. The houses were all bungalows with thick stone walls and quaint thatched roves. It was an isolated community separated from the rest of civilization by a two day trek along faint, mazy trails through a never-ending grassy plain.

Not many people bothered travelling here and even less people bothered leaving. Yet people who lived there were happy with their down to earth, backwards lifestyle. They revelled in it. All except one smothered, lonely teenager in house No. 134.

There weren't many children in Pallet Town. Most of the residents were elderly, their children grown up and carrying on the family tradition. In fact fourteen year old Jack Lovata was the only child in Pallet Town. Five years ago his parents moved from the huge, bustling Saffron City with their nine year old son to get away from all the fuss and noise that came with life in the city.

Five years later and they were still known as the New Couple. Five years later and their son was starting rebel against the quiet, slow life that Pallet Town had to offer.

'But it's the first of January,' cried Jack indignantly, staring down his irritatingly calm mother, 'All fourteen year olds have the right to receive a Pokémon today.'

His mum sighed, 'We've already gone over this. Neither your father or I want you to receive a Pokémon and we do not have a trainer school here. If you want to walk all the way to Viridian City be my guest. We won't come with you, we will not support you with money, we will not help you if you persist with this trainer nonsense.'

Jack lost his temper. 'This is all _your _fault. If we had stayed in Saffron like _I _wanted to then this wouldn't have been a problem. But you had to move to this backwards shit _hole_!'

His mother's eyebrows knitted together angrily but Jack did not care anymore. He stormed out of the house, anger radiating off him in palpable waves, slamming the door behind him so hard that the woven willow shutters of the house broke from their hinges and came crashing to the floor. Jack was too irate to care.

As stormed through the scattered houses people avoided him, people who knew to keep well away when one of these moods befell him. His feet took him to the Pokémon lab right at the edge of town - the lab which he was forbidden to enter. The Pokémon lab was run by the renowned and elderly Professor Samuel Oak and was an unwanted part of the town.

When Samuel Oak arrived in Pallet Town ten years ago at the age of sixty he was rebuffed by the townsfolk, but they didn't actually have the authority to stop him living there. When he built his Pokémon lab undeterred he was shunned by the already hostile townsfolk. He had not shown himself once in his decade living there.

Jack loitered outside the lab. He didn't have the courage to go in. Suddenly a deep, strong voice spoke quietly to him. 'Are you going to wait there all day? Come in. I know what you want.' Jack whipped round but he could not determine the source of the voice. Shrugging, he entered the lab, closing the door softly behind him.

'You're fourteen, aren't you?' asked the deep, oddly hypnotic voice. Jack whirled round to see Samuel Oak. Age had been kind to Samuel Oak. A serious Pokémon trainer in his youth, he was still slim but muscular with tanned, weather-beaten skin. He wore a long white lab coat with a Pokéball stitched in red, white and black thread where his top pocket should have been.

'You want a Pokémon.' It was not a question. Jack nodded. Oak sighed sadly. 'I cannot give you one. I released all mine into the wild except one, and I am loathe to give him away. No.' He shook his head, 'I will lend you some Pokéballs to catch your own Pokémon.'

Oak handed Jack a bag filled to the brim with black Pokéballs striped with yellow. 'I don't get any Pokémon to help me?' asked Jack nervously, comprehending the dangers of venturing into the wild without a Pokémon to protect him. 'I'm afraid not,' said Oak, 'but I will be watching over you making sure you come to no harm.' Jack nodded, his fears slightly allayed. He turned to walk out the door but was stopped by Oak's surprisingly strong grip. 'You _cannot _be seen. Understand me now. It is imperative that you are not seen.' Jack nodded again, slightly shaken, and walked quietly out of the door after checking that the coast was clear.

Jack slipped out of the town quietly, without being seen. As soon as the town was out of his view he began to walk normally, swaggering around and enjoying his first taste of freedom. Suddenly he heard a pain filled cry to his left and he was sprinting towards the source before he knew what was happening. The sight he found when he arrived was appalling.

A group of Mankey, far from their preferred territory of the forest, were savagely beating a Pokémon that Jack did not recognize. It was a baby, that Jack was certain of, but large and obviously going to become a formidable creature. It was tortoise like with a brown-scaled body spattered with occasional orange and grey spots. A steel mask covered most of its face and metal bangles were locked around the lower portion of its legs. It had four steel claws arranged equally around its circular feet. The steel looked weak and pliable, and obviously wasn't fully grown.

The group of Mankey were viciously beating it, thin arms and legs powering punches and kicks that were surprisingly formidable. The unknown Pokémon let out a low, keening sound filled with pain that reached down into the depths of Jack's soul. A large, heavy stick somehow found its way into his hands and he was running towards the Mankey, teeth bared in a vicious snarl, before he knew what was happening.

He barrelled into the midst of the Mankey, heavy stick smashing skulls left and right. The Mankey were sent spinning like skittles and soon all were on the floor. In the back of his mind Jack remembered something he heard about Mankey, something about their fighting spirit....

He turned round and three quarters of the Mankey were already on their feet. They chattered angrily and Jack realised with a start that he could understand their irate mutterings. _Man with hurt stick dangerous. Must make careful battle plan. Kill fire creature. _In a clear voice Jack spoke, knowing that all Pokémon could understand humans, 'If you leave now I will not follow you and kill you. If you attack me you will all die.'

Jack spoke calmly but his voice was full of menace. The Mankey became confused and began to back away. _Fire creature not worth it. He won't burn forests here. Man dangerous. Back to forest. _The Mankey suddenly retreated as one, as if from an unspoken command. Jack immediately bent down to look over the creature.

It was badly hurt. One of its legs was badly broken whilst livid bruises covered its body. It couldn't move, so Jack thought it might have spinal damage. He was sure that if he left it here it would die within the hour. Jack removed a Pokéball from his backpack and opened it in front of the prone Pokémon. There was a flash of light as the Pokémon was immediately converted to pure energy before the Pokéball closed shut.

The Pokémon was so weak it didn't even shake. Oak suddenly crested the hill and saw Jack. He was breathing heavily and sweat shone on his brow. 'There you are, you lost me completely,' he bent over still breathing heavily, 'I'm getting old,' he muttered.

He saw the Pokéball on the ground and smiled suddenly, 'ah, you caught something.' Noticing Jack's solemn face Oak's smile melted away, 'what's wrong?' Jack grimaced, 'it was being tortured by a pack of Mankey, if it is not helped soon it will die.' Oak nodded, immediately taking charge of the situation. He turned and ran back towards the town shouting, 'Hurry up, and follow me.' Jack followed at a sprint but he was barely able to keep up with the super-fit Professor.

They arrived quickly at the old lab and Oak directed Jack to a strange, archaic looking machine that was gathering dust at the back. It consisted of a complicated looking computer attached to a tray with six circular holes. Oak placed the Pokéball in one of the holes and began fiddling about with the buttons. 'Go home,' he said to Jack without turning, still concentrating on the machine, 'it will be healed by tomorrow. Come back then.'

Jack could not stop worrying about the strange baby Pokémon that he had saved, he desperately wanted to release it and talk to it, train it....anything. His parents had accepted his story about 'going for a walk' without comment and he knew that they were just happy that he hadn't done anything drastic....little did they know.

That night he could not sleep. He desperately tossed and turned, wanting to sleep so that morning would come that bit quicker. His mattress seemed harder and thinner than it used to, his pillow seemed lumpier and more uncomfortable than it used to and sleep cruelly evaded him.

He woke up to bright midday sun streaming through the shutter-less windows and ran quickly downstairs. His parents were out, but they had left a hastily scribbled note on the table with directions for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Jack ignored the directions and sprinted towards the lab with a happiness that threatened to brim out of him. He knocked loudly on the metal door and was vehemently quietened by Oak before being ushered in.

'It is fully healed now, open the Pokéball and make sure that you are the first thing it sees.' With another flash of bright light the Pokémon was deposited on the floor and looked deep into Jack's blue eyes with its orange ones, like deep pits full of flame. The voice that Jack was able to discern from the strange chatters coming out of the creatures mouth drowned out Oak's surprised exclamation. _Thank you so much. _The voice was childlike, but full of so much more intelligence than the inane chattering of the Mankey.

_I will fight with you and I will serve you with all my strength and ability Jack. My name is Dante. I am the last of the Heatran, the fierce guardians of the sacred volcanoes. _A metallic, feminine voice interrupted Dante in mid speech. **Heatran, the lava dome Pokémon. It dwells in volcanic caves. It digs in with its cross-shaped feet to crawl and ceilings and walls. Its body is made of rugged steel. However, it is partially melted in spots because of its own heat. **

'This is my Pokédex. It is a unique machine that automatically records data on everything you see. If you catch a Pokémon it gives you a description like the one you have just heard as well as information like height, weight etc. It is the only one of its kind and I am giving it to you. I want you to record data on every Pokémon in the world and help me complete a full Encyclopaedia on all 493 Pokémon.'

Jack took the Pokédex from Oak, thanking him profusely before starting to look through its features. It had 493 Pokémon slots but all but number 485 were empty. 'Oh, one more thing before you leave. To legally participate in trainer battles you have to have a trainer card. If you wait for one second I can print you one.'

Tongue between his teeth, he began to press buttons on an archaic printer. It began to rumble and rattle before spitting out a small, postcard sized laminated piece paper. 'You slot into your Pokédex here,' said Oak, sliding the card into a slot on the right side of the Pokédex, 'and voila. Your details are automatically registered. Without the Pokédex you would have to register at a Pokémon centre.'

'So...I'm officially a Pokémon trainer now...' Jack could barely believe that his decade long dream had finally come to fruition. He never thought that he would be able to become a Pokémon trainer, it was more like a dream that you lusted after but knew would never come true. Now it was true Jack was in heaven on earth. Oak smiled knowingly. 'You are, keep the backpack and Pokéballs, you will need them more than I do. I also have something more for you.'

He magically produced three full restores and max revives. 'Use them with care.' His eyes narrowed as he thought carefully about the next thing he was going to say. 'I think you should visit your parents before you leave. Now they cannot legally stop you I think they will be resigned to their fate and let you go with their blessing.'

Jack nodded and returned Dante. 'Professor Oak....?' Oak smiled, 'Yes Jack?' Jack gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, 'thank you so much. I will never forget you.' After one meaningful backwards look Jack walked towards his house.

His parents were just arriving back at the house when Jack arrived. 'Where were you?' Jack asked curiously, taking in his parent's dirtied clothes and skin. 'We decided to have a romantic meal to celebrate our anniversary, just the two of us. But we got attacked by Pokémon!' Jack's mother spat out the word Pokémon, her voice filled with hate. 'I hate them so much!' she growled angrily, 'they are a blight on this beautiful land.'

Jack's heart sank at these words, he knew that his leaving would not be so simple. 'What attacked you?' asked Jack, 'it can't have been that bad otherwise you would be in worse shape.' Jack's dad took over from his mum who was almost incoherent with anger, 'it was a group of grey furred rat like Pokémon with huge front teeth and a curly tail. One knocked over your mum and began to eat our food. Another tried to bite me but missed and took out a clump from my shirt.' He showed the right side of his torso where the shirt was ripped to shreds with a large, ragged hole taken out of it.

'You see why we don't want you to have Pokémon,' cut in Jack's mum, her face twisted as she said that word again, 'they are ugly, vicious little creatures that should be purged.'

Jack looked down at the floor and scuffed his feet, he wanted to tell them but he knew he couldn't leave until the morning anyway so he decided to postpone it. 'I'm sorry about what happened to you, but don't blame Pokémon. You've been warned not to go into their territory, Rattata are fiercely territorial and will attack anything that enters its territory. Not all Pokémon are like that.'

His mother's eyes glinted with uncharacteristic fury, 'do not defend them,' she spat, 'go to your room now!'

Jack did as he was bid by his mum and walked along to his room, shutting his door quietly and locking it. He knew he would have another sleepless night tonight. Jack buried his face in his thin pillow, grinding his teeth audibly as he tried to decide what to do about the dilemma that faced him. After today he knew his mum and probably his dad hated Pokémon. He knew they would want to stop him leaving whatever happened.

Jack decided that he would leave in the middle of the night, and leave a note to tell his parents what was happening. They would hate him for it. Jack hated himself for it, but there seemed to be no other option. In his mind Jack conjured up increasingly wild and crazy ideas to solve his dilemma, but he knew in his heart that he must leave in the night. At around midnight he decided to leave.

Jack crept out quietly, desperate not to make a sound and disturb his parents who would definitely stop him from leaving on the journey that his heart was set on. After quickly writing the note in an italic scrawl Jack crept out of the door and began to run out of the town. Just as he was about to exit the town something knocked into him with some force, sending him crashing to the floor kicking up dust in a mushroom shaped cloud around him.

Jack heaved himself up and looked at what had hit him. In front of him stood the mayor of the town, handlebar moustache bristling with irritation, a Mankey standing in front of him. 'Stop where you are,' he said quietly, menacingly. 'You are not allowed to leave.' Jack growled, 'I have my own Pokémon, I can do what I want!' with a flash of light Dante was released onto the ground.

When Dante saw the Mankey he began to growl. The sound made Jack's hairs stand on end; it was that full of hatred. Through it all Dante was shouting expletives at Mankey which were so terrible that they cannot be put into words. 'Dante, attack,' shouted Jack, 'ancientpower!' Earlier Jack had been researching the moves that Dante knew and could learn in preparation for his Pokémon battles. He just didn't think that he would need them that early.

Dante began to focus and a strange power began to build up around him. Suddenly he released it in a shockwave that crashed out of him and hit the Mankey with great force. The Mankey was sent spinning before hitting the ground hard. The Mankey barely managed to get to its feet before Dante was on it again. 'Dante tackle!' Dante smashed into the Mankey with its shoulder, smashing into the Mankey's face. This time the Mankey stayed down.

'Don't try and stop me,' said Jack dangerously before returning Dante and running off, leaving the stunned mayor in his wake. _I'm finally free!_


	2. Rival

After twelve hours walking Jack was half way to Viridian City. He was also absolutely shattered. His feet hurt, his legs hurt and his shoulders hurt from carrying the backpack. After about an hour of walking he had released Dante and from then on they trekked together, talking and getting to know each other so that they would be more of a unit when they started battling.

There were no trainers on the trek to Viridian and they had not bumped into any wild Pokémon. Jack sat down with a bump and decided that he would take a long rest. 'Are you tired, Dante,' asked Jack. _I have more stamina than a human. I can walk for weeks if I need to. _'That's good then, I think we should start training.' _There are no wild Pokémon here, nothing for me to train against. _

Jack crouched down over one of the many holes that dotted the grasslands, dangerous traps for a novice walker which could result in a devastating broken ankle or leg. 'You see these,' he motioned towards one of the holes, 'these are Rattata dens. They live underground like this to escape from predators and to make a comfy den. All we need to do is draw them out...' Jack looked around and inspiration struck him.

'Can you breathe fire yet?' he asked Dante curiously. As an answer Dante opened his mouth and blew out a small stream of fire. It was small but Jack could still feel the heat. _That is the best I can do, I need to practice. _'Breathe a very small bit of fire into the hole and they will come running out to defend their burrow.'

A very small stream of flickering orange flame shot out of Dante's mouth and down the burrow. Immediately there was a crazed chattering. _Invaders. Predators. Protect young. Bite. _Four Rattata shot out like lightning and were on to Dante in a flash. He shook of two, sending them flying with a twist his body, and began to heat up his skin causing the other two to release him, their flesh burnt.

'Dante, used ember,' ordered Jack and Dante let out two thin blasts of flame that took out two of the Rattata's. They lay on the ground, unconscious and a little bit charred but still alive. Dante turned on the rest and hit them with powerful tackles that lay them flat on the ground. Dante sat down on his haunches smugly _piece of cake. _Jack cocked his head to the side, 'really? Then you won't mind if we do it some more.'

For the next four hours they trained as they walked along, make slow progress but gaining valuable battle experience along the way. By the time it was nightfall after a full day of travelling Jack could see that Dante was getting stronger. His steel mask and bangles seemed less pliable and harder. His ember attack was hotter, thicker and more dangerous, his full tackles were more destructive and his ancientpower was positively murderous.

When they were only hours away from Viridian City Dante's training moved to a whole new level. A whole flock of Pidgey descended around them with murderous intent. That was strange in itself, Pidgey were normally docile creatures that didn't like confrontation. _Protect the nests. Protect the nests _babbled the Pidgey. _Ah _thought Jack to himself _that's why. _They all dive-bombed Dante at once, pecking and scratching with razor sharp beaks and talons.

With a roar Dante let out a thick pillar of white-hot fire between his rugged steel teeth, burning two of the Pidgey to a crisp. They fell to the ground accompanied by the smell of burning meat. Jack wrinkled his nostrils before crying out, 'Dante, use ancientpower!' Dante let out an explosion of energy that threw all of the Pidgey of him, but the damage wasn't focussed enough to take out any of them.

Before Jack could let out another command Dante began to emanate an orange glow, suddenly he burst into flame and ran in a flaming tackle, smashing through the flock of Pidgey. _Ah flame wheel _thought Jack _that is a powerful move!_ All the Pidgey were on the floor, unconscious or dead. Looking at the two dead Pidgey Jack felt a tide of remorse over take him, and he turned away, not wanting to look.

Dante nosed the dead Pidgey sadly _I didn't mean to do this. They surprise me and hurt me. _There was real sadness in his voice. 'We will try to be more careful next time,' said Jack, 'we cannot let this happen again, _whatever _the situation.'

They reached Viridian City around late afternoon. Jack returned Dante into his Pokéball and entered the small but bustling city with joy in his heart; he never thought he would see another city ever again. It wasn't as large as Saffron, nor was it as high-tech with the buildings made out of stone rather than gleaming metal and glass, but to Jack it was fantastic, he was as close to heaven as he could be. Jack headed straight to the Pokémon centre, navigating his way easily through the grid-layout of Viridian. As he was about to enter through the glass revolving doors a tall girl rushed out, knocking him to floor in the progress.

Jack was taken completely surprise and didn't even have time to break his fall before he fell backwards onto the ground. The back of his head hit the ground hard and blinding pain shot through his temple, 'Ah shit!' he shouted, clutching his head. The girl bent over him, her face a picture of concern, 'I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going.' Jack groaned and took her proffered hand, surprised when she easily pulled him up.

With quite a lot of help from the girl Jack managed to stagger into the Pokémon centre and totter up to the counter leaning heavily on the tall blonde girl at his side. He placed Dante's Pokéball on the counter, 'can I have this healed please?' he asked the red haired Nurse Joy, 'and can I have a headache tablet, I fell on my head quite hard.' Nurse Joy nodded and placed Dante's Pokéball in a machine that looked like an updated version of the one Professor Oak used, this one was all clean stainless steel and harsh flashing lights.

'If you need a room to stay you can stay at one of the trainer rooms upstairs there. They aren't exactly luxury but they are free so....' Jack thanked the Nurse and walked towards the stairs. The girl placed a hand on his shoulder. 'Sorry about that, I'm Lelana, I'm a trainer too and I have a spare bunk in my room...' Jack turned and met the girl's hesitant look with a grin, 'I'm Jack and I'll be happy to stay there.'

Lelana looked relieved and led Jack upstairs to a small room. Nurse Joy was correct about it – it wasn't exactly luxury. The room was bordering on tiny. In one corner rested a metallic bunk bed, in the other corner was a tattered armchair. A very small bathroom containing a small shower, a toilet and a sink led off through wooden doors. 'It's not much,' shrugged Lelana, 'but it's comfortable enough. I take the bottom bunk.'

'So you're a Pokémon trainer too?' mused Jack, an idea beginning to germinate in his head. Lelana nodded. 'How long have you been a Pokémon trainer?' Lelana cocked her head to the side, 'oh, I got my Pokémon on the first of January. I have no badges yet. You too?' Jack signalled affirmative, 'I challenge you to a battle.' Lelana's grin was wide and toothy, 'You're on!'

Jack was also grinning, he couldn't wait to finally test out his talents on a real trainer. The mayor did not count to him. 'I say we battle just outside the entrance to Viridian, maybe a crowd will come to see my destroy you!' Jack's faith in Dante caused him to be slightly arrogant. Lelana took in her stride through, just smiling and shaking her head with a look of silent disbelief on her pretty face.

They faced off on the grassy plains outside Viridian City with a distance of around twenty metres between them. They released their Pokémon with two flashes of pure white light, which coalesced to form the outline of the Pokémon before revealing the two opponents. Dante stood at a face-off with a proud and majestic Arcanine – an intimidating fire-dog Pokémon with soft but thick orange fur and black stripes and a tufted mane and tail of thick, creamy coloured hair. 'How do you have an Arcanine already, I thought you only got your Pokémon a couple of days ago?'

The look on Lelana's face was enigmatic, 'I got a Growlithe then but I trained non-stop and it just evolved earlier today.' Jack narrowed his eyes, this was going to be harder than he first thought.

'Dante, use slash,' ordered Jack. The muscles in Dante's hind legs bunched as he hunkered backwards before exploding off the floor in a huge lunge. 'Windie, extremespeed,' said Lelana calmly as the lava dome Pokémon bore down on her. Windie moved sideways so fast that her body blurred and Dante's claws buried themselves in the ground. Lelana winced, 'that attack had some power.'

Jack smiled, 'Dante has huge strength. You don't have a chance.' Lelana stuck out her tongue, it was surprisingly long and red, 'if you say so rival. Windie, extremespeed again and follow it up with crunch.' Windie became an orange and black blur as she moved towards Dante, knocking him to the floor before viciously biting him with her razor sharp canines.

Dante let out a pained growl but his thick skin enabled him to shake it off. 'Dante, use slash again,' Dante's claws collided with Windie's side, throwing her bodily through the air and leaving three angry red scratches along the side of her torso.

When Windie heaved herself to her feet she had lost a lot of its strength and could barely stand. 'Windie, howl,' instructed Lelana, still calm even in the heat of battle. Windie lifted her powerful, shaggy head to the heavens and roared viciously, increasing her attack in the progress. 'Dante, use calm mind,' bid Jack and Dante began to focus his mind and calm himself to raise his Special Attack and Special Defence.

At the same time both Lelana and Jack shouted an order, 'Dante use flamethrower.' 'Windie use take down.' Dante let out a white hot pillar of flame that gave off so much heat that the air shimmered and warped around it. Windie sprinted towards Dante in explosive bounds powered by her muscle-bound hind legs. The flamethrower attack hit her in midair, stopping her in her tracks.

For a moment Windie hung there, the force of her leap equal to the force of the flamethrower, but quickly the flamethrower won over and sent her spinning backwards.

With an agile twist of her body Windie landed lightly on her feet, but she was panting heavily, her wounds taking a huge toll. Dante was also starting to tire but he was in much better shape than Windie. 'Come on Windie, keep on fighting, we don't want our first fight to become a loss. Howl again.' Windie savagely howled again, raising her attack to an even more impressive degree.

'Dante, let's finish this,' shouted Jack, excited now that victory was in sight, 'Dante use mach punch.' Dante moved incredibly fast landing a number of lightning quick punches on Windie. Windie sprawled backwards but managed to right herself. 'Now, use crunch!' Windie bit down hard on Dante's side, her increased attack adding impressive power to here already dangerous attack. Dante screamed as Arcanine took a clump of flesh out of his side and nearly collapsed from the pain. Fire coursed in the wound, flickering and spurting out where blood should have been.

Dante was badly injured, but he was still standing. 'Come on, one last attack Dante! Give it your all!' _God this hurts. But....I will do it. I will win this! _Dante turned and roared. He was still weak on his feet, but that didn't stop him from launching one last attack. His steel mask began to glow with an iron sheen and he launched a crushing headbutt attack. The two Pokémon clashed heads but Dante came off much better.

The attack was filled with power and in one hit Windie was knocked completely unconscious, blood seeped from her head wound. Lelana gasped and ran up to her, 'Oh my god Windie, are you OK?' Behind her Jack sprayed a full restore onto Dante and watched in wonder as his wounds began to heal itself, the muscle, flesh and skin knitting together before his eyes.

After it was finished Dante collapsed from tiredness, though he was healed his energy was not replenished and he had expended so much energy in the fight that he could not physically stay awake. Jack returned him and shot a worried look at Lelana. 'Don't worry, she'll be find once we take her to the Pokémon centre,' said Lelana, reassuring Jack's worries.

Nurse Joy looked worriedly at the flat LED machine, easily interpreting the mass of graphs, pie charts and statistics. 'I'll have to keep them here overnight, they aren't in good condition at all but they should be in perfect health by the morning.' She tossed back her long red hair, 'that must have been some battle.' Jack nodded enthusiastically, 'it was so evenly matched, if anyone watched it would have been a great spectacle.'

At that moment a small, rather rotund man in white shorts, a Hawaiian shirt and dark sunglasses. 'Hi guys, I'm Scott,' his voice was girlish and full of enthusiasm, 'that was a fantastic battle there, you both showed so much skill and passion.' His smile was so large that it threatened to split his face in two, 'I am creating a Tournament start on January the first next year and I am trying to find trainers that are skilful enough to compete in it. After that, I'll have my eye on you two. If you get good enough expect an invite.' He left as abruptly as he had arrived, rubbing his hands together in glee with a huge smile still fixed on his face.

The two young Pokémon trainers walked upstairs to their small room and settled down for the night. For some reason, neither of them felt like talking. Lelana was sulking into her pillow and Jack did not have the heart to needle her on her loss. Both the trainers went to sleep quickly, a Pokémon battle takes a lot out of you.

So they didn't see the two men peering up into the window, skulking body language and furtive expressions showing that they did not want to get found at whatever they were doing. When they spoke they spoke in exaggerated whispers, 'they have really strong and rare Pokémon.' The other one nodded, 'if we can steal them, Giovanni will be extremely happy. We have to make sure that they aren't found.'

The first one rubbed her hands together in glee, 'I'll ambush them in Viridian forest, you wait outside Pewter if they somehow get past me?'

'Uh, Lelana, do you....do you need a travelling companion?' stuttered Jack the next morning, embarrassed for no reason that he could think of. Lelana winced, 'I'm sorry, I am only staying here overnight, my dad is picking me up and taking me back to Fuchsia where we live. I promised him I would not leave on my journey for another month.' Jack went red and looked away, he was completely mortified.

'I'll probably meet you there then, rival.' Without another word he turned and left, heading for Viridian City gym. The gym was a large, rugged stone building with only a large gym sign to signify its purpose. Jack walked up to the large wooden door and gasped with surprise. 'Closed, closed!' he spluttered angrily, staring at the hastily scribbled sign on the door, 'isn't that illegal?'

A deep voice behind him spoke up, 'yes, it is illegal but the gym leader has gone AWOL. You'll want to travel through Viridian Forest to Pewter City and challenge the gym there.' A tall man in his twenties stood behind him, long black and red cloak and spiky hair blowing in the wind.

'Thanks, who are you?' asked Jack, turning round. 'Ah,' the man smiled an enigmatic smile that totally confused Jack, 'that I cannot tell me.' He laughed, 'fancy me running into the one person who does not recognise who I am. The one person...' He turned and looked straight at Jack. 'You will know who I am by the turn of the year, I am sure of it. Maybe we will meet again sometime in the future.'

The man walked away, and the second Jack looked in the other direction he disappeared, leaving only a draft of cold air, seemingly caused by nothing, nearly blowing over Jack's scrawny body. After about ten minutes of navigating his way through Viridian Jack found himself on its Northern edge. His way was blocked by a frail old man holding a coffee cup. 'Hey, boy, are you a rookie trainer? Do you need me to show you the basics?'

He stood in front of Jack, blocking his way. 'Here, take this Teachy TV. My grandson is a teacher on it. He knows a lot about Pokémon.' The man thrust the TV into Jack's hands, not letting him say any words.

'Uh, thank you?' said Jack hesitantly, 'but I'm not sure I need this.' The man shook his head and smiled, 'of course you need it, it helps for all rookie trainers to have a helping hand. You'll thank me when you're Pokémon Champion.' Jack smiled crookedly, 'you really think I could be Pokémon Champion?'

The idea was strange to him, he used to think of just becoming a Pokémon trainer and nothing after that, but it started an obsession that would drive him for the rest of his time as a Pokémon trainer. 'There is just something about you, some passion that drives you that makes me think that you will make it. When you are Pokémon Champion remember me.'

Jack nodded, 'I will remember you, when I am Champion.' The word seemed strange in his mouth, as if his tongue was feeling its way around the word.

'I will be Champion!' It was a promise to himself, a promise to the Universe, a promise that he would put his heart and soul in to and succeed. 'Nothing will stop me,' he muttered, 'Nothing!' _God help the trainers that I will meet on my way. God help the trainers that try to stop me. For they will fail, they will ultimately fail. And I will prevail. _

He walked towards the dark and forbidding mass of trees that was Viridian Forest. Another step on his Journey to Champion. He was one more step towards his ultimate goal. He entered the forest with no fear or consternation in his mind.

As Jack walked away the man looked on in consternation. The change in personality of that man had been dramatic, his aura had gone from compassionate and trustful to incredibly focussed and determined, a trait that was not necessarily a good thing. His aura now danced around, flickering and changing between good and evil. At a later moment in time one action will determine what path he takes.

He hoped that it would be the right one. He also wondered what he had created in that boy. He wondered what would be the consequences of his actions. But did he regret? Probably not. All his long life he had wanted to give advice to a trainer who was something. Not a trainer who was nothing. Finally he had met a trainer from that backwards, hell-hole that is Pallet Town who might be something. He knew for sure.

He had created a Champion. Finally, in putting that idea in the mind of the impressionable boy, he had created a Champion.


	3. Defeat

Viridian Forest had a dark and oppressive atmosphere. It wasn't hot or humid, but something in the forest itself seemed to want you to get out. Whilst you still had a chance. Jack tried to not let it affect him but the atmosphere was spooking him. It did not help that he could see many Caterpie, ranging from as small as your finger to scarily, obscenely large. Nearly as large as him.

That scared him, so he released Dante to accompany him. Suddenly a teenage boy, all knees and bones, bumbled in front of him, acne ravaged face set in a challenge. 'We met eyes, I challenge you to a battle against the awesome power of bug Pokémon.' Jack rolled his eyes and looked down at Dante, 'have some fun, it shouldn't be a problem.'

The boy released a huge Caterpie that was bigger than him, it was a monster, segmented body blown out of proportion and eyes huge but expressionless. 'Dante, knock yourself out,' muttered Jack, before he sat down on the leafy forest floor. The bug trainer's face twisted in anger, 'arrogant bastard, I will destroy you.'

Jack shrugged as Dante leapt to attack, smashing his head into the soft, pliant side of Caterpie. It was sent spinning wildly, the powerful attack too much for it. It was unconscious before it hit the ground. The boy looked even more angry, if that was possible and sent out an equally oversized Weedle. Huge drops of venom dripped from the stinger at its tail. Jack just yawned.

'Dante, don't use any fire attacks because it might hurt the forest, keep using physical attacks.' Dante nodded and slashed the Weedle with a steel claw, ripping it in half. The tail fell to the floor with a crash, but immediately another tail began to grow in the place of it. 'Hmm, that's a surprise. I'm intrigued,' Jack got to his feet and clapped slowly, 'impressive, but it won't help you. Dante, mega punch.'

Dante nodded and delivered a crushing punch of amazing power. The Weedle was knocked unconscious automatically, in the wild it would already have been killed such was the power of the blow. The boy actually stomped his feet in frustration at this loss. 'Damn it. Screw you!' He returned his Pokémon and ran off back into the forest, his appearance as fleeting as a wood sprite.

'Amateur,' muttered Jack scornfully, conveniently forgetting that he had only received his Pokémon three days ago. He slowly climbed to his feet, then cupped his hand to his ear. A continuous piercing shriek was echoing through the forest, the direction of the sound altered as it bounced off tree after tree. It sounded like a Pokémon in trouble.

Jack had a huge feeling of déjà vu as arrived onto a scene of a Pokémon being beaten up by a group of other Pokémon. This time, the Pokémon seemed to be at least a match for its attackers. This time, the Pokémon attacking were owned by a trainer.

The Pokémon being attacked was a long serpentine Pokémon with deep blue scales, three-pronged fins where his ears would have been and a large silver nose. It was being attacked by a small, blind, blue skinned bat Pokémon - a Zubat – and a bulky rat Pokémon with huge teeth and a long, whip like tail – a Raticate.

Behind them stood a shifty looking man dressing in black leather with an equally black cap pulled down low over his eyes. A small red 'R' emblem was stitched onto his chest. 'Zubat, leech life,' he cried, 'Raticate, hyper fang!' The Zubat closed its wings and fell towards the serpentine Pokémon's neck, long fangs bared. The Raticate opened its huge jaws and dived. The serpentine Pokémon twisted its body sharply and smashed the Zubat out of the air with a savage slam attack, knocking it out cold.

Before it could turn to face the Raticate the rat-like Pokémon slammed into its side and knocked it to the floor before viciously biting it with huge fangs. The serpentine Pokémon screamed and thrashed wildly, but it was in vain. The Raticate had a firm grip. Jack decided to intervene. 'Dante, iron head on the Raticate then tackle the trainer.'

Dante smashed into the Raticate with a towering headbutt, breaking its ribs instantly and sending it flying through the air to crash into a tall, coniferous tree. Hard. It hit the ground with a dull thud and began to glow before disintegrating in a shower of bright white sparks as it returned to its Pokéball. The other trainer looked at Jack, spluttering with anger.

Before he could make a move Dante's muscled shoulder connected with his midriff sending him flying through the air. He got up slowly and limped away, calling a threat, 'you will rue the day you messed with Team Rocket. Believe me when I tell you this. Your days are numbered.' Jack arrogantly dismissed the threat as that of an incompetent buffoon. He was so very wrong to do so.

The serpentine Pokémon groaned as it tried and failed to rise. _Thanks for that boy. I had it covered though. _Jack shook his head in mock amazement, 'Really? You had me fooled!' The Pokémon groaned again and Jack took a good look at it. It was covered in scratches and bruises, looking like it had been put through a blender. He pointed his Pokédex at the creature and the metallic feminine voice played out of the speakers on the side.

**Dratini the dragon Pokémon. Long considered a mythical Pokémon, recently a small colony was found living under water. Even the young exceed six and a half feet in length. It does so by repeatedly shedding skin. **Jack reached into his bag and brought out a Pokéball and placed it in front of the Dratini. It was enveloped by white light and captured. The Pokéball began to shake violently but after five shakes it stopped and the Dratini was caught.

Jack immediately released it and sprayed on his second full restore. After it had healed the Dratini rippled its body and raised itself up. _I am Asrael. _Its voice was deep and booming and reverberated impressively around his skull. Then Asrael began to laugh. _Sorry _his voice was high pitched but masculine _I just had to do that. So are we going to kick that guy's arse now. _

The Dratini bared its teeth mischievously and let out a corrosive dragon's breath. Jack shook his head. 'I'm going to get you to the Pokémon centre in Pewter City then we are going to train back here for a day before we challenge Brock.' Asrael growled but stayed silent. He continued growling until Jack returned him and trekked into the depths of the endless forest.

The darkness was nearly complete here, only broken by the faint streams of sunlight that wormed their way through the almost impenetrable tangle of branches to pool on the forest floor. Jack kept the tired Asrael in his Pokéball but had Dante walked by his side to discourage any intrepid Caterpie or Weedle from jumping on him. After Jack defeated the first 'bug catcher' in such convincing fashion none of the rest had dared to challenge him.

He had seen them out of the corner of his eye, hiding behind trees or in bushes as he passed, springing out once he gone. So his walk through the forest was relatively uneventful. When the exit was in sight a second trainer finally decided to challenge him.

'I hear you have been terrifying the bug catchers,' said the boy, a tall handsome boy. He was about eighteen and incredibly muscle-bound. Veins wormed their way up his arm over knotted muscles in his forearm and shooting straight as an arrow up his bicep. 'I started off my life as a trainer here, as a bug catcher,' he trailed off at Jack's incredulous look, 'it's true. And I don't like trainers more powerful than them coming here and humiliating them.'

Jack opened his mouth but the trainer cut him off. 'I challenge you to a battle. Six vs. Six.' Jack frowned, 'I only have two Pokémon.' The boy stared at him hard, as if trying to make him out, 'OK. 2 vs. 2.'

He threw his Pokéball in the air and a tall bug Pokémon appeared. It attacked Dante immediately with no prompt from its trainer. 'Dante, dodge it,' directed Jack desperately, sighing with relief when Dante managed to avoid the wickedly sharp, scythe-like forearms. The points dug deep into the ground, nearly half way up the blade itself, but the Pokémon pulled them out easily.

It was a daunting display of strength and Jack wondered what he was up again. The trainer gave his first order, 'X-Scissor.' He was calm, quiet and collected. The Pokémon leapt in the air, paper-thin wings flapping furiously to keep it aloft then flew towards Dante at furious speed, arms crossed in an X shape.

Dante began to glow with a purple sheen and for one second a tenuous link between the Pokémon seemed to be traced with purple energy. 'Dante, flamethrower!' Jack had not noticed this strange move on Dante's part – his only concern was stopping the rampaging bug Pokémon. The flamethrower was thin but concentrated and as powerful as Dante was able to summon. It hit the bug Pokémon and engulfed it in a ball of red hot flame.

Nothing happened. The Pokémon continued to fly through the flames as if they were but a minor inconvenience. Its attack nearly ripped Dante in two. Dante screamed, a terrible sound full of ripping, tearing pain and collapsed on the floor. Liquid fire began to seep out of his body, a vivid, fluorescent orange. Before Dante could spill any more of his lifeblood on the floor Jack returned him, shock painted on his face.

This trainer seemed unimaginably powerful. Dante was nearly killed with one move. Suddenly the bug Pokémon gave a strangled cry as a purple aura surrounded it. It collapsed to the ground with a wound identical to that it inflicted on Dante, red blood spurting out. The trainer cursed as he recalled it. 'That was a low blow. Destiny bond? Your Pokémon isn't even a psychic type.'

Jack shrugged, desperately trying to keep his outwards appearance calm. 'I thought that move would come in handy.' In truth he didn't even know that Dante knew that move, or could even learn that move. The bug trainer shook off the shock and rebuilt his solid armour of disinterest and rolled another Pokéball onto the floor. A huge brown stag beetle Pokémon stared at Jack, large, intense eyes giving an unspoken challenge.

Jack began to worry even more here, his knuckles clenched as he dug his nails into the palm of his hands. The trainer just stood there as implacable and unreadable as a statue. He would not let up. Jack knew what he had to do there. He knew he wouldn't win. He began to walk away. 'What the hell are you doing you little bastard?' exploded the trainer, taking two menacing steps towards him.

His whole body language exuded barely controlled violence. 'I forfeit,' said Jack quietly as if saying the very words would curse him.

Saying those words seemed like treason to Jack, but he knew he that his Pokémon would just get hurt if he continued in the fight. 'You seem to be a lot stronger than me. I don't want my Pokémon to get hurt.' The other trainer's face mellowed out, 'those are good sentiments,' he said, nodding approvingly, 'I may have overestimated your strength. How many badges do you have?'

Jack laughed bitterly, 'you think I have badges? I only got this Pokémon on January the first.' The trainer stepped back in shock and raised his hands, 'I'm sorry. I really overestimated your strength.' The trainer's armour plated exterior was shattered for a second and he looked shaken by his misjudgement. Without further words he released a Pokémon that look very similar to his first Pokémon except it was encased in bright red metal armour.

Even though he was nearly half a foot taller than his Pokémon the trainer jumped on his back. With a loud, sonorous vibrating sound the steel encased bug Pokémon leapt into the air and flew fast into the sky. Within a minute it was only a red dot. Within two it was lost in the clouds that crept nervously across the sky.

Jack did not move from that place for a long while. He was stunned – shocked by his humiliating defeat to the very core. His confidence, which was once so large, lay shattered on the ground before him. That fateful encounter with a Pokémon trainer far superior to him made him realise how far he was from realising his dream of being Pokémon Champion.

He felt his eyes fill with tears, and however hard he tried to blink them away they kept on welling. Soon they were spilling over his eyelids and running slowly down his cheeks. Drop by drop gravity pulled them down. Drop by drop they left salty trails streaking down his cheeks. Drop by drop his dreams of being Pokémon Champion were crushed from him.

After an eternity of crouching there Jack stood up and made his way slowly towards the exit of Viridian forest. His movements were listless and careless. It was as if his brain had just switched off its emotions. He moved as if in a dream. A nightmare. He did not react when he finally exited that accursed forest and sweet rays of sun, far too bright after hours in the dark, blinded his eyes sending stabbing pain through his temple.

He did not react when he tripped and fell over onto the grass, skinning his knee. He did not react as blood slowly seeped out of the wound, making its way slowly down to stain the vivid green grass. A splash of red in a sea of green.

When he finally stumbled into the Pokémon centre darkness was just claiming the sky, the last vestiges of the dying sunlight splashing blood red across the sky. Without a word he carelessly tossed his Pokémon to Nurse Joy and slowly climbed upstairs to be welcomed by a harsh, unappealing room. Dreams came easily that night, though for once Jack wished that they wouldn't.

Each one was more bizarre and more pain filled than the last. They filled his skull with vivid, clashing colours twisted in bizarre manikins by his uneasy mind. Finally his dreams began to reveal some semblance of reality as the whirling colours combined into a harsh landscape.

In his dream wind howled across the land, shrieking through the bogs and marshes, howling over crags and peaks. On one side stood his parents. Their smug 'I told you sos' left a bitter taste in his mouth. He stepped towards them and they began to welcome him. They didn't think he could see the knives hidden behind their traitorous backs. On the other side stood Lelana, as tall and as beautiful as ever.

She looked at him with sorrow and understanding in her eyes, begging him to come to her. _She _had not knife hidden behind her back. Behind her stood his Pokémon, Dante and Asrael. They did not look at him accusingly as he first feared. They were not angry and resentful. They looked at him with trusting eyes, respectful eyes, was it...loving eyes? Behind them stood the man he had met early. He stood tall and proud, cape billowing in the wind. His face contained respect. He beckoned.

Jack began to walk towards his Pokémon, towards a life of danger and excitement. He got half way before his traitorous parents began to beguile him. Their sneering words entered his head and suddenly he was looking out with a whole new light. His Pokémon weren't looking at him lovingly. No. That was vicious hate in their eyes. The man with the cape wasn't looking at him with respect, his face contained contempt, it was twisted in an arrogant sneer.

Even Lelana, so pure and beautiful before, began to look ugly and resentful to him. He blinked at this new vision and looked towards his now loving parents. Light shone from behind them. They looked a picture of angelic brilliance. They looked the better choice. Jack began to walk towards them, towards the welcoming arms of wonderful parents. The reality of the dream shifted again and this time both sides of the invisible division seemed good and untainted. Jack was torn, his mind undecided.

He knew he had to choose. Jack looked from side to side, indecision building with every second. Finally he decided that he needed to make a choice now. He chose.


	4. Recovery

When Jack woke up he was seeing the world in a new light. He knew he had made the right decision in walking away from his parents once more. The shocked lethargy that had overcome him, the shocked lethargy that could have easily ended his Pokémon journey in its infancy was gone.

He had not succumbed to the curse of the greenhorn Pokémon trainer – he was stronger than them. Jack leapt out of bed with a surge of energy and practically sprinted down the stairs, dancing to the counter of the Pokémon centre and picking up his two Pokéballs. 'The Heatran was quite badly injured but it is fine now. The Dratini was only tired.' Jack nodded his thanks and left with a jaunty wave.

For a moment he flirted with challenging Brock straight away, but he decided that he would make sure that he wouldn't lose again. Jack headed out of Pewter City and got ready for a full day of training Pokémon. His mind was full of techniques that would help both his Pokémon improve. With both of them released and facing each other across a grassy plain Jack set out his training plan.

'Today we are going to work on one-on-one fighting. You both will be trying to get under each other's guard and get a hit. Make sure the blows aren't full strength but don't pull out of them altogether. Ready?' _Definitely. _Both the Pokémon began to fight.

It was like watching an intricate dance. Dante went on the offensive, attacking in a hail of precise blows. Asrael exhibited fantastic control of his body by acrobatically twisting and turning through the air to avoid the blows.

He used his muscular tail to parry any of the blows that he couldn't dodge, pivoting around the point of contact and instigating his own offensive. The two Pokémon collided, the velocity of Asrael knocking Dante onto his back. Whilst Dante lay winded on his back Asrael wrapped all six foot of his serpentine body round the struggling tortoise-like Pokémon.

Slowly Asrael began to constrict, contracting the many muscles of his body in tandem to squeeze the life out of his victim. Dante roared as he struggled, but it seemed to be impossible to get free.

Dante relaxed suddenly and Asrael quickly unwrapped his body in one swift movement, scalded. _Ah shit_ he screamed, the pale skin on his stomach covered in livid red marks. The skin was peeling and blistering. Asrael countered by opening his mouth wide and blowing a powerful stream of water from his mouth. The water hit Dante with more force than a high-powered hose, physically pushing the two hundred pound creature backwards by more than a metre.

The attack was obviously considerably damaging to Dante, but already he had devised a counter attack. A column of flame met the column of water in a titanic explosion of spray and smoke that exploded five metres into the air. For a second all Jack could see was the light-grey coloured steam resulting from the monumental collision of the two elements, but when it had cleared Dante's flamethrower was only half a metre away from Asrael's face.

Just as he was about to be overwhelmed by the ravenous flames Asrael dropped to the floor and shocked Dante with a weak jolt of electricity. Dante fell to the ground, body wracked by the tremors of paralysis. He tried to stand up and attack but his muscles betrayed him, spasms making him jerk out of control and collapse to the ground. He lay there unable to avoid the powerful dragon's tail cutting through the air towards him.

There was a faint whistling sound before the tail struck Dante, but it was soon drowned out by the echoing crack caused by the impact. Dante slumped, as if all the strings suspending his body had been cut, his glazed eyes betraying his unconsciousness. After the sound of the battle the silence was noticeable. Loud clapping broke the silence as Jack congratulated his victorious Pokémon. Asrael took a little bow. _So, what's next?_

Training next took a different turn. Jack decided to make training more specific, working on the individual weaknesses of each Pokémon. For a part steel Pokémon Dante's defence was surprisingly weak compared to its attack, so Jack wanted to improve it. He had Asrael attack Dante alternately with physical and ranged attacks and had Dante endure them. Dante was weakened quickly by this training, but numerous trips from Jack to Pewter City to buy potions enabled the training to be prolonged for hours. After a particularly vicious combo of attacks from Asrael Dante could barely stand, even his improved defence simply did not hold up against the dragon Pokémon's impressive attack. So he went to sleep. Whilst he was sleeping his body began to heal itself and Jack watched with fascination as the wounds slowly disappeared in front of his eyes. It never ceased to amaze him, this healing of Pokémon.

A quiet cough behind him caused Jack to whirl round in surprise. A small, powerful looking man dressed in a dark black suit was looking at him with considerable interest. 'You have a very unique style of training young man. Very unique... Are you just starting out?' Jack nodded, slightly taken aback by the probing interest in him. 'Yes, uh I got my Pokémon in January the first.'

The man nodded with satisfaction, 'You will go far. I will be keeping an eye on you. Maybe we will be able to work together some time.' Jack was even more confused by this and slightly worried by the man's persistent querying. 'Maybe?' The man seemed pleased by this. 'I'm Giovanni by the way.'

After another hour of training Jack knew it was time to challenge Brock. After healing his Pokémon at the Pokémon centre he arrived outside the gym. As soon as they saw a trainer walking towards the gym a large crowd began to gather. _Just my luck _thought Jack ruefully _just my luck to challenge on market day! _Around him stood thousands and thousands of multicoloured stalls wafting contrasting aromas towards him, aromas which fought for control of his nostrils.

The noise which had been such a cacophony before he had been spotted was now silence as thousands of eyes turned to stare at him. Jack gulped; he could feel their eyes on him. It felt like light fingers were being slowly drawn down the back of his neck. He shivered and entered the gym without a backwards glance.

'Ah, a challenger at last.' A tall teenager with spiky black hair lounged at the back of the gym. 'Come to lose? We will grind you down with our superior power! Go Geodude!' With a cry Brock released a rock shaped Pokémon with two stony, muscular arms. It supported itself on one of those arms whilst beckoning confidently to Jack. Jack raised his eyebrows. 'You want a fight. You'll get a fight. Go Dante! Iron head!'

Dante was moving even before the bright light of the Pokéball receded, charging towards the off-guard Geodude. 'Geodude, defence curl,' ordered Brock just before Dante connected. The Geodude only had time to brace its arms in front of its face before there was a loud crash as steel met rock. Steel won and the Geodude was knocked against the gym wall. It left a sizeable dent.

The Gym Leader's Pokémon was tougher than it looked. It easily picked itself up from the attack and gave Dante a look that said _is that all you got?_ 'Geodude, mega punch.' Geodude pulled back his arm, rocky muscles pumped up to breaking point, and launched a crushing punch into Dante's side. Dante groaned as he was knocked to the floor but still managed to heave himself up, albeit rather difficultly.

Brock had his opponent on the run and he knew it. 'Geodude, crush this loser. Rock throw.' Geodude plunged his hands into the ground and ripped out two rocks, straining with exertion. In one fluid motion it flung both of them towards Dante before plunging his hands back in to dig up more.

'Dante, use flamethrower to knock the rocks out of the air, then use rest' ordered Jack. Dante nodded and let out two powerful streams of fire to knock the rocks off target. He closed his eyes and fell asleep, healing himself in the process. Brock smiled, 'your Pokémon may have healed itself. But now it's asleep and can't battle!' Jack raised his eyebrows, 'oh really? Dante, use sleep talk.'

Dante grumbled in his sleep and opened his mouth. A huge ball of fire was building there, growing larger and larger and hotter and hotter. It flickered orange and red, distorting the air near it like a mirage. Still sleeping, Dante moved its head around and locked onto the Geodude. The ball of flame that engulfed it was larger than any Dante had ever produced and was of such intense heat that the air itself seemed to burn.

The Geodude had no chance. It was nowhere near powerful enough to withstand such a blow and if it hadn't been for its rocky exterior it would have been burnt to a crisp. As it was, it barely survived the roasting it was subjected to and collapsed, small wisps of smoke spiralling off its body. Brock's face was less confident when he returned his Geodude, his face now showed an expression that was something between admiration and consternation.

'Hmm.' Brock studied Jack intently before releasing a huge Onix. He was smiling now. 'I know I've got you. You have potential, but you've underestimated me. I'm going to win now. Onix, use bind.' Onyx raised itself off the floor and roared. It immediately wrapped itself round Dante and began to squeeze.

It was incredibly powerful and Dante began to get crushed. Dante could not cope with the power of the Onix. He was unable to free himself, unable to even move. He was like a mouse trapped in the deadly coils of a boa constrictor, waiting to die.

Jack remembered something, something that could save Dante from his predicament. He scratched his head, debating with himself. 'Dante,' he called, finally making a decision, 'use explosion!' That decision was not one to be made lightly, but Jack could think of no other way for Dante to damage the Onix. Dante had no such compunctions – the Pokémon using explosion felt no pain.

He began to fill his body with fire, slowly building up energy inside him. Very quickly the pressure began to build and soon it became almost unbearable. Dante braced himself and let the energy explode out of him. The shockwave hit Onix and tossed it through the air, caught like a leaf in a gale. The dust caused by its impact on the ground mingled with the smoke from the explosion to cause an opaque fog which covered the gym.

Jack recalled Dante and waved his hands through the air trying to clear the smoke. Slowly the smoke began to drift towards ground level, slowly uncovering the devastated remains of the gym. The explosion had completely ripped away two of the walls and left charred black marks covering the two walls that were left standing.

Rubble was strewn across the gym, huge boulders were shattered into small pieces and pieces of the ceiling were still raining down on the Gym Leader and his opponent. Jack sighed, but inside he was ecstatic at getting his first badge. There was a low groan and a creaking sound. Jack gasped as the Onix heaved itself up. Huge black marks peppered the rock snake Pokémon's body and it was missing the last two boulders in its tail.

Jack growled, 'too bad for you I have another Pokémon. Go Asrael!' Asrael appeared on the battlefield hissing a challenge. His body was tensed to breaking point as he waited for an order from Jack. He was extremely eager to attack in his first experience of a trainer battle. 'Asrael, finish this,' shouted Jack dramatically, gesturing wildly into the now open air, 'use twister.'

A powerful twister whirled itself into being in front of Asrael and shot towards Onix picking up rocks and dust along its way. The twister reached the Onix and began to ravage its body with savage winds and the sharp rocks which had been picked up by the twister.

Each blow was agonising to the severely weakened Pokémon - its tortured roaring showing how much pain it was in. Brock did not let up, his face was set as he ordered his near-unconscious Pokémon to attack again.

'Onix, use stone edge. Take out that dragon.' The Onix clearly loved its trainer and to its great credit it tried to carry out its orders. It was too weak to do so. 'Put it out of its misery Asrael, use slam.' Asrael nodded and smashed the Onix in the face with his tail. The Onix was knocked out cold and lay prone on the ground.

Brock did not look happy, his face was thunderous as he returned his Pokémon. He viciously kicked out at a rock and clenched his fists. 'Well, I suppose you have beaten me. In recognition of this victory I must hand give you the Boulder Badge. The teenager slapped the clouded grey octagon in to Jack's hands with some force, gripping his hand as if in greeting. The grip got tighter and tighter until Jack could feel the bones in his hands grinding together.

Jack did not let the pain show in his face as he ripped his hand from the angry teenager's vice-like grip. 'Nice fight Brock, you're really good.' Brock sighed, his anger partially deflated by Jack's good sportsmanship, 'not good enough apparently. I hate losing.' He turned his back to Jack and his ruined gym, dismissing him. Jack just smiled at the rough treatment, _someone's a sore loser _he thought as he walked out.

He ignored the huge crowd that had gathered, ignored the whistles and cat-calls from those that idolised Brock. He was done with Pewter City. After a final visit to the Pokémon centre he left without a backwards glance. He only looked forward now. His Pokémon journey was finally under way.

Mount Moon was his next destination. It was only a few hours of trekking away, across mountainous, rocky terrain. Jack released both his Pokémon to train on the numerous diminutive Spearow that fluttered around the barren landscape. For such a small Pokémon the Spearow were incredibly ferocious, attacking both Dante and Asrael – both many times their size – with no regards for their safety.

They were also plucky fighters, their mirror move attack especially was deceptively powerful. An especially small but violent specimen nearly knocked Asrael out cold with a copied slam attack, knocking the dragon Pokémon to the floor with painful concussion. It took a powerful flamethrower from Dante to subdue it, but a potion from the quick thinking Jack ensured it was killed or permanently burnt.

There were also many trainers here. Most were badgeless youngsters who had just received their Pokémon. The multitude of Ekans, Pidgey and Rattata were no match for the growing power of Dante and Asrael. Every so often Jack met a trainer who posed more of a challenge. When the mass of sharp, rocky peaks that made up Mount Moon came in to view Jack's ability as a trainer was sorely tested.

A slimy, arrogant looking boy strutted up to him, his lips curled up in a smirk. Jack instantly hated him. 'Hey loser. Want to be destroyed?' Jack gritted his teeth but kept his voice civil. 'If you think you're up to it...' The boy's smile faltered at the heavy doubt in Jack's voice and his visage became thunderous. 'I will fucking destroy you! Bastard!' The boy tossed a Pokéball contemptuously into the air sneering, 'go Kabutops.'

A shellfish with a semi-circle shaped head and two razor sharp sickles for arms landed lightly on the ground. Immediately it launched a flurry of slashing attacks aimed at Dante. They cut deeply into Dante's back, leaving painful cuts criss-crossing his body. Dante's front legs collapsed and he hit the dust hard. The other trainer laughed, his voice filled with contempt, 'such a weakling. Your Pokémon too.' He shook his head, 'trainers like you should be executed.'

Dante growled as he got to his feet, spurred on by the poisonous words. His body began to glow and suddenly he caught fire. Summoning his remaining strength Dante ran towards the Kabutops with a last resort tackle. Dante's flaming tackle was devastating. It snapped one of the sickle's directly from its body, leaving a jagged stump where the deadly weapon had been but a second before.

It shattered its left kneecap, twisting the leg at a right angle from its body and ripped off one of the white plates of armour that protected the underside of its body. The Kabutops was knocked out cold and did not look like it would be getting up any time soon. Dante was in slightly better shape but he would not finish the next battle conscious. Jack decided one last attack would be enough, and then he would recall Dante.

'Go Omastar.' The boy was positively exploding with anger. 'My Pokémon will _kill _you.' Jack turned to Dante and started encouraging him, 'come on Dante, one last attack.' Dante took in a deep, painful breath and turned to face the armoured squid in front of him. Dante's flamethrower attack smashed into the front of the Omastar and swirled around its helix shaped shell. The inferno lasted for nearly thirty seconds before Dante had to stop the attack.

The Omastar had retreated into its shell so the attack was less effective than it otherwise would have been. The shell was slightly blackened by a thin coat of charcoal but the attack hadn't been particularly damaging.

'Omastar, spike cannon,' ordered the other trainer seeing that Dante wouldn't take any more hits. The row of spikes that were mounted on the Pokémon's shell suddenly launched towards Dante and smashed into him. Dante roared as the sharp spikes of bone hit him and buried themselves in his body. Dante screamed and collapsed, barely conscious.

The last spike smashed into his skull, glancing off but the damage had already been done. Dante was immediately knocked unconscious but the other trainer wouldn't stop the battle. 'Now Omastar, while he is down, hydro cannon.' An incredibly powerful jet of water exploded out of its mouth towards the unconscious Dante.

Just before it hit Jack recalled him. 'What are you doing you sadistic bastard? He's unconscious, the battle is over, what the fuck are you doing?' The boy smiled easily, and his voice was filled with sadism, 'I told you. I will kill your Pokémon, then I will kill you!' Jack said nothing and released Asrael in front of him, he wondered to end this battle soon. 'Asrael, thunder wave.'

A weak bolt of electricity shocked through the Omastar, locking its muscles in a dehabilitating paralysis. 'Now use thundershock.' A small ball of electricity appeared in front of Asrael before shooting towards the paralysed Omastar, as the attack hit the Omastar arcs of electricity shot around its body. For a second the Pokémon was trapped in a cage of burning electricity before the attack fizzled out. It had a deadly effect.

The Omastar was still paralysed but now it was covered in burns. Arcs of electricity still sparked across its body causing even more pain. 'Get up you weakling,' screamed the Pokémon trainer, 'my dad didn't pay all that money to have you die on me now. Get up!' He kicked his Pokémon. It collapsed. The kick had been the last straw. Jack's face was twisted in anger, 'how dare you. How dare you!'

He could not believe what this trainer had just done. 'Asrael, knock this bastard unconscious and take his money.' Asrael was all too happy to oblige. He ignored the trainer's enraged screams, and took great pleasure from smashing in his face. Blood spurted from the rich boy's broken nose as he sprawled onto the flaw. Asrael grabbed the boy's wallet in his mouth and tossed it to Jack.

Jack leafed through the wallet and gasped, 'wow, you really are a rich bastard.' With his new found wealth Jack walked towards Mount Moon with a spring in his step. He had humiliated a despicable Pokémon trainer and gained valuable experience of a real Pokémon battle. No-one would stop him now.


	5. Kayla

As Jack walked closer and closer to Mount Moon he began to realise how enormous and extensive it was. Mount Moon was part of a huge mountain range that made up the backbone of the Kanto region. Most of the peaks rose through clouds like titans trying to capture Rayquaza, the great dragon in the sky. The peaks that didn't penetrate the clouds all came close and the whole landscape seemed like it was drawn by an artist, it was a towering, majestic tableau.

There were no more trainers here, the increasing uneven and rocky ground did not make a desirable place to train your Pokémon. Even the Spearow stuck to flatter ground - the only Pokémon that lived up here were the hardy rock Pokémon Geodude. They were hard to find, hard to kill and not worth the effort.

Jack was breathing heavily by the time he reached the Pokémon centre – its slate grey metal walls and gleaming windows at odds with the natural glory of its surroundings. He dropped off his Pokémon with Nurse Joy and sat down at one of the comfortable red armchairs set up cosily in the corner, the springs creaking as the chair welcomingly enveloped his body. 'So we meet again young Jack,' Giovanni was sitting at in the chair next to him.

He hadn't been there when Jack sat down. The man stretched out his broad soldiers before turning and fixing Jack with an intense stare. 'I've come to give you a warning. Be careful in Mount Moon. There are huge wheels set in motion there. Dangerous wheels. Keep your Pokémon out and your wits about you or you could get hurt. If you see anyone dressed in leather with an 'R' on their chest stay away! It is very important that you stay away!'

The speech was full of earnest warning and Jack could see that the man wasn't lying. 'OK. I will be careful.' Jack was a bit confused but decided to comply with the strange man's warning. There was something in that speech that struck a chord inside of him. 'Thanks for the warning Giovanni.' The man nodded and lay back in the chair, relaxing nonchalantly as if his impassioned speech had never happened.

Jack walked through the entrance of Mount Moon – a long, dim tunnel that had been shoddily hewn into the mountain – and stepped out into the greatest natural phenomenon in Kanto. The whole mountain range of Mount Moon was completely hollow, apart from about ten metres of stone around the edges.

It was vast, the top was so high that it was shrouded in a swirling mass of shadows, and full of smooth ledges joined together by precarious arches of limestone worn smooth by the insistent dripping of clear mountain water. Flocks of Zubat congregated in the shadowy niches that peppered the mountain walls led by the occasional menacing Golbat which glided silently through the air above.

bounced across the floor, black tipped ears waving enthusiastically. If they saw anyone looking they would disappear as quickly as they appeared – their appearances were always fleeting.

Trainers were scattered around the inside of Mount Moon, surprisingly many for a space that was relatively small in trainer terms. Groans and screams accompanied by bright flashes of light echoed round Mount Moon as hard fought battles began and ended in dramatic fashion. Jack decided to keep a low profile, remembering Giovanni's advice, and avoid trainer battles.

Creeping stealthily in the shadows he began to navigate his way through the naturally twisted, several-tiered maze that was the inside of Mount Moon. After nearly half an hour of walking Jack walked straight into the middle of a battle between two trainers.

A Zubat passed low over his head, so low that he could feel the air being pressed onto his head by the Pokémon's leathery wings. The Zubat crashed into a white tufted egg-shaped Pokémon holding an oval shaped egg in a stretchy pouch of skin on its stomach.

The Zubat bounced off, its attack seeming to do no damage whatsoever. The egg Pokémon seemed to be completely unconcerned and began playing with the egg in its pouch. 'Zubat, use bite!' At the order from its trainer the Zubat bit down on the egg Pokémon with needle-like fangs and began to drain blood. Still unconcerned the egg Pokémon shook of the Zubat and began to eat the egg.

Instead of a shell the egg was made out of a soft, leathery membrane which was easily pierced so the nutrients within could be harvested. As the Pokémon ate the egg from its pouch it began to heal. When it had fully healed the Pokémon concentrated, looking at the egg with frightening intensity. A rotten stench began to waft out from the egg as it began to go rotten, the membrane and the insides blackening.

Taking the rotten egg the pink Pokémon hurled it as far as its tiny arms could throw, and watched in satisfaction as the egg exploded over the Zubat. The bedraggled creature began to wine pitifully as the acidic juices excreted by the egg began to corrode its flesh. Jack started as he took a good look at the trainer commanding the Zubat. It was the same man who had viciously attacked the Dratini in Viridian Forest.

He was still looking noticeably worse for wear, a bandage was wrapped tightly round his rips and he limped slightly as he moved around. 'You!' the hatred in his voice was frightening, the man seemed to have completely forgetting about the battle he was fighting. With no orders forthcoming the Zubat began to fly around in circles, its path becoming increasingly erratic until he finally managed to shake off the last droplet of the acidic juice.

'You!' he began to advance towards Jack, fists clenched, 'I'm going to kill you. You humiliated me and you are going to pay!'

He began to walk faster and faster towards Jack, eyes radiating malice. Jack stopped retreating and released Dante in front of him. 'Whoa, hold up there. You remember what happened last time don't you?' At that threat the man stopped and absently rubbed the bandages on his ribs. 'Ah,' Jack smiled even though inside he was quaking, 'I see you do.'

The man fought with himself, the veins either side of his neck stood out in high relief and the tendons on the back of his hands formed ridges as he clenched his fists. Sense seemed to win over as he retreated, 'I will finish this battle,' he said quietly, venomously, 'then I will finish you. Zubat, leech life.' For the first time the other trainer, a girl with brown hair braided with colourful beads and a short skirt, spoke, 'Blissey use double edge to take out that bloodsucker.'

The Blissey nodded and began to waddle on its tiny legs towards the Zubat. When it was about two metres away it launched itself into the air and smashed hard into the little bat.

It hardly lost any momentum and crushed the Zubat into the floor on the way down. It smashed into the ground with some force, sending tremors rocketing through the ground, shattering any stalagmites unlucky enough to be caught in the radius. Slowly the Blissey got to its feet and tottered back from the whole, it was covered in a number of superficial cuts and bruises and seemed very weak.

Even though it was in the middle of the battle it sat down on the floor and began to eat its egg again, sighing contentedly as it began to heal. The Zubat tried to heave itself out of the hole and continue the battle, but after the impact it was little more than a bag of broken bones held loosely together by skin and all it could do was moan piteously.

The trainer recalled it with disgust and sent out its Raticate. The Pokémon looked meaner and burlier than ever and bared its long teeth and that seated Blissey.

Jack stepped in to intervene but was waved away by the girl, 'I can handle this grunt,' she said whilst smiling sweetly to her opponent. 'Come back Blissey. Go Shuckle.' Her new Pokémon seemed even less lethal than its predecessor. It was a floppy yellow creature, seemingly devoid of muscles, encased in a ceramic looking red shell. It looked balefully at the Raticate and stuck out a thin tongue that was as floppy as its limbs.

The leather clad trainer looked at the Pokémon he was facing in disbelief, 'Raticate, rip this pathetic loser to shreds.' The Raticate nodded and charged towards the Shuckle, teeth bared in a deadly smile. The Shuckle didn't even bother to move. When the Raticate was merely a metre away the girl gave an order, 'Shuckle use bide.' The Shuckle immediately withdrew its whole body inside its shell, only its eyes could be seen, seemingly unconcerned.

The Raticate hit the Shuckle with its shoulder at full speed, fully expecting to make a sizeable dent in its shell. It hit the Shuckle and bounced straight off, leaving not a scratch on its smooth shell. It shook itself and bit down on its opponent but its teeth could get no purchase – they just slid off the smooth shell without doing any damage. The girl laughed.

'Do you know what you're facing? I don't think so. Shuckle has the highest defence and special defence of all known Pokémon. It makes an Aggron look soft. You won't even make a dent in it.' Her opponent gritted his teeth, 'we'll see about that.'

Jack watched in growing admiration as for the next half an hour as the Shuckle took every attack that the Raticate threw at it without being hurt. The Raticate couldn't even move it. Suddenly the Shuckle exploded out of its shell and hit the Raticate with a floppy hand. The Raticate was sent spiralling through the air to land heavily on the floor with a sickening crunch.

The girl laughed again and affectionately praised her Pokémon, 'great bide attack Shuckle. You know what to do next. Power Trick.' The Shuckle nodded and began to shuffle towards the heavily injured Raticate. When it was closer it began to briefly glow as a strange psychic power surrounded its body. 'Now Shuckle, use pound.' The Shuckle rose in the air ready to bring its boneless limbs onto the Raticate's head.

'Quick Raticate, dodge with quick attack.' Painfully it nodded and just managed to avoid the blow. The blow smashed into the ground with such tremendous force that a ground shaking shockwave exploded from the point of contact.

The man gasped as the girl giggled uncontrollably. 'Now you might have guessed that Shuckle has an incredibly weak attack but an incredible defence. I just swapped the round and now Shuckle has the most powerful attack of all the Pokémon. One hit and your Pokémon,' she slapped her hands together, 'will go splat! Shuckle, use pound again.'

Slowly the Shuckle lumbered around to begin another attack. Both of the trainers were smiling now and Jack gasped as he realised the flaw on the girl's plans. He knew what was coming next. 'Raticate, use quick attack!' In a last gasp attempt to win the battle the Raticate dug into strength reserves it didn't know it had and smashed into the Shuckle.

The effect was devastating. Its shell cracked like an egg from the impact and the Shuckle was flung through the air to land with an audible slap on the ground, a sound akin to a wet cloth being slapped hard onto a tabletop, completely thrown from its shell. The girl's eyes widened with fear as she recalled her Pokémon. It was her last one. The other trainer cracked his knuckles menacingly, 'so you're out of Pokémon. I can do whatever I want to do....'

His eyes were alight with sadistic glee. Jack couldn't take any more of it. He stepped between the two trainers. 'You'll have to get through me and my Pokémon.'

Dante emphasised his point with a low growl filled with anger and threat. 'I'm really starting to hate you kid.' The man's voice was unnaturally calm. 'And one day I will make you pay. I will enjoy it.' He turned and ran away but Jack could still feel the man's intense stare lingering on him even after he had gone.

'Thank you very much,' the girl had sidled up to him, green eyes filled with gratitude. 'I thought I was a goner there.' Jack shook his head modestly, 'don't worry. I thought you were doing fine. You had him on the run.' She smiled ruefully, shaking her head, her multicoloured beads clicking together as she did so. 'So did I. I forgot that when Shuckle gets a really powerful attack she always gets a really weak defence. It cost me.'

Up close Jack could see that she was shaking. Putting on a brave face she hold out her hand, nails painted in an elegant shade of red, 'I'm Kayla. Kayla Silph.' Her voice tailed off and she looked to be thinking hard. 'Please tell me what I can do to make this up to you,' she said finally after a good minute of thinking, 'I fell indebted.'

Jack waved away the offer, 'don't worry about it. I have met that bastard before and we didn't really leave on good terms. I was happy to stop him.'

The girl shook her head at his modesty, muttering something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, 'honestly...men and their pride!' With a triumphant exclamation she pulled out a blue and purple Pokéball with a large 'M' drawn on in white. 'This is a very special Pokéball. It is a prototype, a one off and was given to me by my dad, the President of Silph Co. It is a maser ball. It can capture any Pokémon, however large or strong they are and they will not escape.'

he held it out to him, 'take it. It is the least I can do.' Jack took the Pokéball with reverence and carefully stored it at the bottom of his back. 'Thank you so much. It is a great gift.' The girl began to giggle and pushed him playfully, 'why so formal?' As Jack struggled to formulate an answer she shoved him again, 'cat got your tongue? Come with me, I know a quick way out of here.'

Jack followed Kayla through the mass of dank tunnels that made up the bottom levels of Mount Moon. They were inhospitable places, the dampness meaning that slimy moulds covered the walls in a disgusting, mucus-like membrane. After five minutes of walking Jack stopped memorising the way. After ten minutes he was completely lost. If he hadn't been following Kayla he was sure that he would never have been able to get out.

When they passed the slime covered bones of a long dead human Jack was sure that if they got lost they would die down here, in the inhospitable bowels of the mountain. Kayla was unconcerned, skipping over the bones as if they weren't there with a smile on her face the whole time. Jack couldn't help but notice that she was more than pretty.

After nearly half an hour of walking Kayla stopped and pointed ahead. A wall, smooth except for a small crack, rose high in front of them. She was pointing into the crack. 'I'll go first. Stay close behind me and don't take a wrong turning.' Jack grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, 'are you crazy?' His voice sounded slightly hysterical even to him, 'we can't go in there! What if we get stuck? No-one will find us. We'll die in our own coffins.'

He began to breathe heavily as claustrophobia began to grip his mind. Kayla looked at him oddly, 'don't worry. It's more than wide enough. Follow me.' She plunged into the whole and was immediately swallowed in darkness. Jack stared until Kayla's voice reached him, 'well what are you waiting for? Come on.'

To his surprise the crack wasn't too small. He had about ten centimetres of space either side of his shoulders and nearly a foot of space above his head. He crawled after the quickly receding figure of Kayla, dragging his knees along the rocky floor and cutting them in the process. The crack began to slowly but surely get narrower until the sides of the walls grazed Jack's shoulders. He was panting now, struggling to master his fear.

Kayla was far in front of him, he could only see a glimpse of her back in the almost complete darkness of the tunnel. Jack dragged himself along faster, gripping the sharp rocks in front of him to pull himself forward. Suddenly Kayla disappeared round a bend and Jack nearly went crazy with panic. He stopped and took deep breaths, calming himself.

Slowly he began to struggle through the now uncomfortably tight tunnel, methodically pulling himself along. He turned the corner and fell out of the tunnel onto soft grass. Bright light assaulted his eyes but he didn't care. Jack lay spread-eagled on the floor until a sharp kick in the side snapped him up. 'Don't be such a baby,' she admonished, hauling him up.

This girl confused him greatly, one moment she seemed warm and comforting, the next cold and distant. She backed up his point by suddenly hugging him, pressing her body into his, 'thank you. I'm off now. I'll put in a good word about you to my dad. He's pretty powerful and he could be a very good friend to have for a young Pokémon trainer.' Then she was gone, skipping off down the grassy hill towards Celadon City, as if she hadn't a care in the world.

Jack watched her go with a bemused expression on his face before slowly traipsing down after her, mind full of questions and thoughts about a green-eyed, brown-haired girl with beaded hair and such unique Pokémon.


	6. Watery Grave

Cerulean City was a unique city, even by Kanto standards. It was a bizarre mixture of new and old cobbled together to make one fantastic city. The centre of Cerulean City was a high-tech nirvana. Stainless steel buildings soared high into the air, everywhere polished glass gleamed and the sun glinted off burnished metal.

The centre was surrounded by a maze of canals dug deep into the soil peppered with small islands topped with quaint wooden houses often at a slight slant. Every so often the islands were slightly larger and here treacherous looking buildings, also made out of wood, were hastily erected. The buildings fought for space in the overcrowded islands, half of them leant over the water, the only thing keeping them from plunging into the canals thin wooden stilts. For a newcomer, visiting Cerulean always left a lasting impression.

Jack was overwhelmed by the sights and smells of Cerulean. He was riding on a finely crafted gondola steered by a gondolier and pulled by his mermaid-like Vaporeon towards the high-tech centre. He stared down at the clean, pure water entranced by the water Pokémon flitting swiftly between the islands.

Though the canals were seemed like an impossible maze the gondolier effortlessly guided the gondola through and soon Jack was disembarking onto the concrete at the city centre. Jack headed straight for Cerulean gym, which was a large, single-storied building built directly at the centre of the City. He tried to push open the doors but they wouldn't budge. A hastily scrawled note explained the gym leader's absence.

_Gone to investigate around Cerulean Cave, be back in two hours._ Jack swore and punched the door in frustration. Ruefully he flagged down another gondola and set course for Cerulean Cave.

Jack exited from the north gates of the city and entered the wild country. The grass was up to Jack's waist and clawed at his body with hand like tendrils. They wrapped round his legs like they had a mind of their own, tripping him up on more than one occasion and generally hindering his progress. He ended up wading through the grass like it was water, leaving a swathe of crushed glass behind him. Strangely Jack encountered no Pokémon, not even a glimpse.

There was nothing. The whole area, though vibrant with a multitude of colourful flora, seemed dead. It was completely silent, there were no Pidgey chirruping loudly in the trees, no shrill warning calls of Rattata sentries assaulting your ears. Every so often a cold presence seemed to blow through the area.

The grass rippled though there was no wind, the water rippled and twisted though there was no object moving there and often Jack felt a cold shock passing through his body along with a malevolent mind close to his.

'What are you doing here?' a high pitched, indignant voice ripped apart the forbidding silence, 'I explicitly forbid anyone from going here whilst I was researching the disappearance.' A small teenage girl dressed in a tank top and hot pants stood beside Jack, hands on hips. 'Well, what do you have to say for yourself?'

Jack stared at the small red-headed girl who was soundly berating, unable to take her small stature and cute looks seriously, 'well I'm a trainer so I was looking for Misty to battle her.' The girl's face became even more clouded with anger and she looked close to a violent explosion, 'you've found her.' Jack started in surprise, 'oh right. Sorry. Can I battle you then?' Misty shook her head vehemently, 'I've got to check out this disappearance first. I'll battle you in about an hour.'

Jack was suddenly interested, 'what disappearance?' Misty frowned, 'you haven't heard? About two months ago Pokémon began disappearing from around Celadon, this area especially. It wasn't too pronounced to begin with, so people didn't really notice. About a month ago Pokémon really began to leave in droves, but still they didn't take any notice.' Her voice rose in pitch and volume as she began insulting the 'bureaucratic buffoons' very vocally.

Tears began to fill her eyes as she finished describing the situation, 'now all the Pokémon around Celadon are gone. Gone! Even the family of Dratini that were nesting in the water have left.' Misty wiped away her tears and stood on tip toes to look Jack in the eyes, 'and I've found nothing.' she paused, 'OK. Come with me back to the gym and I'll battle you. I can't face searching around here anymore.'

When Jack was finally shown the inside of the gym he gasped in surprise. It was full of salty water and extremely humid. A huge pool was set into the stone floor, with small islands scattered irregularly in the sapphire blue water. Misty turned and stood at one side of the gym facing Jack over the water. She threw a Pokéball high into the air and a tan coloured star fish Pokémon appeared in the air, the circular red jewel set in gold at its centre flashing vivid red light.

Gracefully it plunged into the water and bobbed to the surface, half in half out, ready for battle. Dante would be no good for this battle Jack knew so he paused for a second as he tried to devise a battle strategy for Asrael. After about a minute Misty began to get impatient so Jack released Asrael onto the watery battlefield. The dragon Pokémon crowed delightedly as it plunged into the water, sending fans of white spray arching through the air either side of his entry point.

'Where did you catch that?' Misty's voice was a strange mixture between anger and curiosity. 'I found him in Viridian Forest getting attacked by some half-witted trainer. Why?' Misty's voice rose with excitement, 'because the only place that Dratini are found is in the water around Cerulean City. So your Dratini must have migrated from Cerulean to Viridian Forest.'

She was smiling, as if a great weight had been taken from her chest. 'OK. We'll talk about this later. Now we battle. Staryu use bubblebeam. The red jewel at its centre began to glow and suddenly huge transparent bubbles began to form in front of it. These bubbles were sprayed very forcefully towards Asrael, exploding on his body with enough force to leave apple sized bruises on his side.

'Asrael, use thunder wave.' Asrael swooped through the air, swimming through the air with explosive strokes of his tail as if he was swimming through water, and sent a small shock of electricity through the air towards the Staryu. The Staryu dived deep into the water to avoid the shock and moved through the water so swiftly that only a glimpse of gold could be seen, distorted out of shape by the refraction of light.

'Now Staryu, use water gun,' called Misty and for a second all was quiet and silent in the gym. The silence was shattered as the Staryu exploded out of the water and shot a foot into the air, water cascading off its form in small waterfalls. A powerful column of water blasted through the air arrow straight towards Asrael a mist of white spray surrounding it.

Asrael managed to avoid the bulk of the blast but was clipped in the tail and knocked out of the air. He hit the water with more force than his size dictated, creating waves a metre tall either side of the impact. Asrael disappeared in a flash, his blue skin colour a fantastic camouflage. 'Asrael use thundershock.' The two trainers watched the water closely with bated breath, wondering when Asrael was going to attack.

Asrael's exit from the water was much less dramatic than the Staryu's, but much more effective. His streamlined body made no sound as it exited the water and for a second the Staryu did not notice that its enemy was behind it. A small ball of electricity began charging in front of Asrael, hissing and crackling when it came into contact with droplets of water.

The Staryu whirled around to face its opponent and was welcomed by a powerful shock. For a second it was still, electricity coursing through its body, then it was thrown backwards, spinning uncontrollably through the air as bolts of electricity arced erratically off its burnt bulk. It hit the water smoking and plunged into the salty debts with an audible hiss. Misty stood in shock before pulling herself together, 'Staryu use recover.'

Jack swore, 'Asrael, dive in there and shock it again.' Asrael dived quietly into the water and for over minute nothing seemed to happen. Every so often large bubbles rose lazily to the surface of the water, popping on impact with the air and a wave appeared, as if from nowhere, to circuit the pool until it ran out of energy. Both trainers peered into the pool to see if they could make out the results of the battle.

Suddenly a blinding flash lit up the gym as a web of electricity sparked through the water. Bolts of power sparked out of the water, branching into the air like delicate trees. A faint smell of burning flesh wafted out of the water. The gym was silent but for the occasional sparking of rogue arcs of electricity as both trainers waited in silence for the result of the matching to make itself clear. With a fait plopping sound a Pokémon rose to the surface.

The Staryu was almost charred beyond recognition. The same basic shape of the five pointed star was the only thing that separated from a pile of charcoal. Wisps of smoke rose idly off its prone form and the pungent smell of burnt meat permeated the air. Mist stared in shock at her mutilated Pokémon and sadly recalled it.

As if to add insult to injury Asrael sped into view, his glistening wet body looking unarmed by the electricity. _Electricity _he said in his mischievous voice _it tingles_. Jack barked out a short laugh in relief, 'God,' he whispered, 'you nearly gave me a heart attack!' Asrael cocked his head to one side _well I couldn't let you have an easy time of it could I?_ Misty's shrill voice interrupted their exchange, 'go Starmie. Revenge your sister's defeat!'

A bigger, violet sea star set with a large ruby at its centre was introduced to the battlefield. 'Asrael, shock this Pokémon into submission. Thundershock again.' Asrael began to charge again. 'Starmie use rapid spin.' A second star mounted on the Starmie's back began to spin faster and faster. Like a Frisbee the Starmie began to curve towards Asrael, its body horizontal to the ground.

It moved surprisingly fast and before Asrael could react it was bludgeoned to the ground. Unluckily for Asrael their collision took place above one of the small islands that peppered the pool. His collision with the island was slightly harder than it would have been with water. Asrael lay on the island barely conscious, his body had been shredded by the rapid spin attack and a multitude of luckily shallow cuts criss-crossed his body.

Brilliant red blood dribbled out of his body, single droplets staining the ground red where they fell. He tried to move his battered body but his bones were too bruised. If he even tried to move agony assaulted his brain from a dozen different places. 'Come on Asrael,' encouraged Jack, 'use thundershock again.' Asrael managed to create a small electrical orb in front of him and willed it towards the Starmie.

In one fluid movement the Starmie span to the side, dodging the attack. Unbeknownst to the it the ball of electricity began to bend round towards it. 'Look out, behind you!' shouted Misty, her voice full of panic. She remembered how much damage the attack had done before.

She was too late. The orb collided with the jewel at the Starmie's centre and the Pokémon dropped like a stone towards the water, sparks still crackling off its body. Just before it hit the water it managed to right itself and hovered just above the surface. The attack had clearly hurt it, burn marks sprinkled its body and the red jewel at its core was dimmer now, but it didn't have the devastating effect it had had before.

'Starmie, finish that Pokémon with water pulse.' The jewel began to glow brighter and brighter as the Starmie focussed its mind and the water around it rose into the air. The water began to spin forming a watery circle that was kept together by the velocity of its rotation.

The pulse of water hit Asrael with surprising force, its weight crushing him to the ground. More pulses of water created by the Starmie hit him in quick succession, and Asrael's agonised groans could be heard even above the deep sound of the water.

When the onslaught was finished Asrael lay on the ground unconscious. His back had snapped like a twig and every so often his muscles twitched as the broken nerve endings sent phantom signals to his brain. Jack recalled Asrael angrily and reluctantly released Dante. He knew the battle was against him now. Dante was extremely weak to water and he didn't have any attacks which were particularly effective.

'You're coming here with a fire Pokémon?' Misty asked incredulously, her bearing now more confident than it was before. 'I don't have a choice. Dante use flamethrower.' Dante stood awkwardly on one of the tiny islands, almost falling into the water, his fiery metallic body looking completely out of place in the sapphire blue surroundings. He belched out a ravening pillar of flame that greedily licked its way through the air towards its prey.

'Starmie, counter it with water pulse.' Almost disdainfully the Starmie matched Dante's attack with its own, the force of the water extinguished the fire, sending a mixture of spray and steam fountaining across the whole battlefield. 'Now Starmie use rapid spin.' The Starmie began spinning at tremendous speed and scythed through the air towards Dante. 'Dante, meet it with iron head.' Dante tensed his body and leapt forward to headbutt the Starmie in midair.

The impact knocked both Pokémon to the ground, with Dante getting the better of the collision. The Starmie floated to the surface of the water, clearly dazed by the collision. 'While it's dazed, flamethrower.' The Starmie just managed to avoid the fiery attack and snapped out of its daze to retaliate with water pulse.

Dante had nowhere to run to. He couldn't jump to another island because none were in reach and he hated the water with a passion so was loathe to jump into the pool. 'Block it with flamethrower,' ordered Jack, though he was just stalling. He had no idea how to win this battle. The two attacks again cancelled each other out in a huge explosion of steam and spray and for a second a fine mist hid both combatants from each other.

This was what Misty had been waiting for. 'Starmie use psychic.' Behind the opaque barrier of mist, hidden from Dante and Jack, the Starmie's jewel began to shine brighter than ever before and suddenly shimmering, purplish energy exploded out, instantly dispersing the mist, before hitting Dante. Dante was knocked off his island as if he was but a feather and thrown a good ten feet before he crashed into the water.

It was a bedraggled Dante that dragged himself out of the water, holding himself gingerly because of a huge bruise on his side. If he hadn't had such tough skin and bones he would have surely been splintered by that attack. 'Dante use rest.' Dante had never been so relieved to go to sleep. Misty clenched her jaw as he saw Dante healing, then smiled evilly. 'Big mistake, Starmie use hydro pump.'

Her Starmie descended into the water and began to spin. As it span a funnel of water surrounded it and slowly the vortex began to rise higher and higher into the air. 'Now Dante. Use sleep talk!' shouted Jack desperately. He knew if the attack hit Dante would be dog's meat.

Dante stretched in his sleep and spat a massive ball of fire towards the Starmie. As the two attacks collided the whole gym was covered in the mist that the impact created. The mist quickly receded and Jack groaned as he saw the vortex of water homing in on Dante, its bulk barely diminished despite the lava dome Pokémon's best efforts. The collision wasn't pretty.

The sheer weight of water cracked the concrete island in two and drove the still sleeping Dante deep into the depths of the pool. The collision with the floor of the pool was so hard that it was audible, even through five metres of water. Jack recalled his Pokémon quickly, not wanting to see the shattered mess that would be undoubtedly left behind. 'Good battle,' he said, sighing sadly, 'I really thought I could win that one.'

Mist walked around the pool to shake his hand. 'Your Pokémon are very strong, you have raised them very well. I think I will expect to see you within the week.' Jack nodded his agreement, 'you bet. Then I will win.' Misty raised her eyebrows. 'We'll see.'


	7. Taming

_I need another Pokémon _thought Jack as he was ferried out of Viridian City _or I'll never be able to beat Misty_. His loss was at the forefront of his mind, but instead of being crushed by the loss he used it to motivate him to be even better. Because all the Pokémon north of Cerulean had migrated, Jack was heading south towards Saffron and Vermillion City to pick up a third member of his party there.

It wasn't the best place for finding Pokémon, a huge road had been cut arrow straight the land and the grass either side had been trimmed short and even. It was the kind of habitat that the powerful Pokémon who dwelt in the furthest and remotest corners of Kanto hated and any trainer would be hard pressed to find a Pokémon worth catching there.

Apart from the ever present Pidgey and Rattata Jack couldn't see any Pokémon worth his time battling, let alone catching. Jack had avoided Pokémon battles mostly, he wanted to catch a third Pokémon first and practice battling with it after. After nearly an hour of searching he found his Pokémon. It was perfect, exactly what he needed. It didn't look particularly formidable, but then again most psychic Pokémon don't.

Physically it was less than impressive, a circular white body with a purple spot at its centre, stick thin arms and legs ended in clownishly oversized hands and feet and a large, pink, round head that sat neck-less on its equally squat body.

None of that mattered to Jack though. It was what it was doing that attracted him to it. It was in the middle of a heated battle with a huge, battle scarred Fearow and easily winning. The enraged bird charged towards it and began to jab viciously with its deadly looking beak but was stopped in its track by a quickly erected barrier of shimmering, transparent energy.

The Fearow collided with the barrier and for a second the barrier bent inwards and it looked like it would rip, but then the wall of light rebounded back and tossed the bird to the floor. The bird hit the dust and quickly got to its feet, squawking madly all the while. It was truly a formidable creature, by its looks the long time leader of a successful flock of Spearow, and had taken affront to this strange Pokémon invading its territory.

Jack pointed his Pokédex towards his chosen Pokémon and listened intently to the metallic message. **Mr Mime, the barrier Pokémon. A skilled mime from birth, it gains the ability to create invisible objects as it matures. If interrupted whilst miming it will slap the offender with broad hands. **The Mr. Mime almost seemed bored by the battle.

With a bit of carefully chosen conjuring it could practically make itself invincible, easily keeping its attacker from landing a hit. It drew a faint square in the air and a shimmering barrier appeared in the air in front of it, created just in time for the crazed bird to crash into, headfirst. The bird was starting to get dazed, its bloodshot eyes were glazed over and it seemed unsteady on its feet.

Finally the bored Mr. Mime decided to end the battle. As it narrowed its eyes in concentration a small halo of psychic energy began to circle its head slowly. The Pokémon pointed its broad hands towards the Fearow and a ball of psychic energy exploded from its hand and smashed into it. The energy had more force than a punch from a Machamp.

The ball of energy smashed its face to a bloody pulp and snapped its neck back, the loud crack echoing through the landscape. The Fearow dropped to the ground with a dull thud, sending small plumes of dust motes rising slowly through the air. Jack winced and looked away from the dead Pokémon, but in reality the show of strength really excited him.

Whilst the Mr. Mime was facing the other way Jack released Dante. 'Dante use iron head,' he whispered. Dante ran towards the Mr. Mime's back, bearing down on the psychic Pokémon like a steamroller. At the last moment it span round and cross its arms over its chest. A thin, spherical barrier appeared in front of it. Dante hit the barrier at full speed and it bent inwards elastically, before shattering, sprinkling the ground with tiny, purplish specks of energy.

The barrier had taken most of the strength out of the attack and Dante was moving slowly when he hit the Mr. Mime, tossing it high into the air with a flick of his powerful neck. The psychic Pokémon back-flipped in the air and landed lightly on its feet, the relaxed, disinterested look on its face replaced by a look of anger. Huge balls of energy formed in its hands and he tossed them towards Dante.

Dante effortlessly dodged the first attack and caught the second on his steel skull. The steel plates absorbed most of the attack and Dante was able to shake off the attack with ease. 'Take it down with flamethrower,' ordered Jack, admiring the Pokémon's battling ability. Dante belched gouts of flames out of his mouth towards his opponent, only to see them be repulsed by another screen of condensed light, this one multicoloured. 'Dante, keep it up.'

Dante's attack began to weaken but before it spattered out completely the light screen burnt away and the Mr. Mime was awash of flickering red and orange flames. It fell to the floor, burnt and struggled to its feet. It was in bad shape, a huge, irregular burn mark showing on its stomach and one of its arms hung limply at its side having been dislocated by Dante's iron head attack.

'Dante get closer and use bite.' Dante responded by charging towards the Mr. Mime, running surprisingly smoothly and quickly for such a bulky and heavy creature. He opened his mouth wide and jumped through the air, jaw muscles clenches as he was ready to bite down on the other Pokémon. In one fluid movement the Mr. Mime pirouetted to the side and shot a beam of swirling psychic energy out of its right hand.

The beam hit Dante on the side of his head, just behind his metal plated skull, and tossed him onto his back. The beam had struck the place directly behind his ear with powerful force, and the placement of the blow knocked immediately knocked Dante out cold.

Quickly Jack recalled Dante and released Asrael, not giving the Mr. Mime any time to escape. 'Asrael use twister,' shouted Jack and Asrael roared in anger, focussing his mind to manipulate the weather. A vicious twister suddenly whipped into existence around the Mr. Mime, the strong winds nearly wrenching it off its feet. Its frizzy black hair whipped around wildly as fear finally showed in its eyes.

The twister strengthened and ripped it completely off its feet, spinning it around faster and faster in the clutches of the powerful winds. Suddenly the psychic Pokémon was thrown out of the twister, a good twenty feet in the air, and hurled hard onto the rocky cement of the road. There was a loud crack as it landed, followed by a dull thump.

The Mr. Mime lay spread-eagled on the ground, clutching its broken shoulder and arm and groaning in agony. The impact had also shattered its spindly legs, which lay at awkward right angles, the bone breaking through the thin skin. Jack recalled Asrael and threw a Pokéball towards the badly injured Pokémon and watched in satisfaction as bright white light enveloped it and pulled it into the Pokéball.

Even though it was injured the Mr. Mime still struggled against its confinement and the Pokéball rocked for a full minute before it was officially caught. Jack scooped up the Pokéball and released his Pokémon so he could heal it completely. After a full minute of healing the Mr. Mime was fighting fit and ready to talk.

_Bastard_. The word was pronounced coldly but the anger behind it was palpable. _Bastard. How dare you catch me?_ It was obviously in half a mind to attack its trainer, but the terms of capture stopped that in its tracks. Jack just raised his eyebrows and endured the onslaught.

'You can fight for me if you want,' he said calmly, 'but if you don't I'll have to leave you in a box to rot. I don't want to do it,' he grimaced at the thought of doing that to a Pokémon, 'but if you don't fight for me I may be forced to.' At this the Mr. Mime was silent for a while, obviously deep in thought. Finally it sighed _I will fight for you. I can't believe that I got caught by an amateur! _

It began to mutter angrily under its breath for a full minute before finally burst out in a smile, 'thank God,' he said, the relief obvious in his voice, 'I really didn't want to leave you to rot in a box, uh....' he trailed off and looked questioningly at the Mr. Mime. 'What's your name?'

_Harry _answered the Mr. Mime shortly, promptly turning his back to Jack and refusing to speak anymore. Jack let out a bark of laughter before catching himself, 'Harry? That's an....understated name!' he said, the amusement plain in his voice. Harry said nothing, but Jack could see that his large hands were clenched in a fist. 'Sorry,' Jack said finally, banishing all amusement from his voice, 'I'm sorry.'

Harry still had his back turned, blatantly ignoring his trainer. Jack shrugged at the obnoxious behaviour and carried on talking, 'I'm going to battle with you a bit so we can both get used to each other then after a couple of days of training we will challenge Misty again.' Harry still didn't react. Sighing Jack recalled the belligerent Pokémon and started training in earnest.

The trainers around Cerulean weren't particularly strong. Harry was able to take out all of their Pokémon with relative ease, but there was clear friction between him and his trainer. In the fifth battle this friction really came to head. Harry was facing off a mediocre trainer who looked about sixteen. Though he had been training for over two years he still didn't have a badge and his Pokémon were unimpressive.

'Go Meowth,' he cried, seeing the stick-thin trainer in front of him and mistakenly sensing an easy win. A tiny cat Pokémon was appeared from the swirling, starry light of the Pokéball, hissing viciously. It had a cream coloured, slim body with a large head, large yellow eyes and six thick, quivering whiskers leaping out of its cheeks and head. A solid gold crest nestled snugly between two large, black ears and needle sharp fangs bared themselves over furry lips.

'Harry, come out and smash it,' said Jack calmly, smirking at the mistakenly hopeful trainer rubbing his hands together enthusiastically in front of him. Harry appeared and landed lightly on the ground, his expression deadpan as usual. The

trainer attacked first, seeing only a physically weak specimen in front of him not a psychic master. 'Meowth use tackle, then use bite whilst it's on the floor.' One thing that the trainer could not be faulted on was in the way he raised his Pokémon. The Meowth obviously loved him very much and was extremely eager to please its trainer. Too eager to please. With surprising speed it bounded towards Harry and jumped into him in with a shoulder charge.

Harry calmly erected a barrier between him and the attacking Pokémon and watched in satisfaction as the cat Pokémon bounced off accompanied by a faint tinkling sound, like a faint orchestra. Even that had tired out the Meowth. Though it was only covered in superficial cuts and bruises it already seemed nearly out of the battle, a large red tongue lolling out of its wide mouth.

Jack felt sorry for the trainer, obviously out of his depth against a much stronger trainer, and had flashbacks to his own encounter with a trainer much too strong for him and felt pity. 'Harry, wrap this up with a psybeam. Don't hurt it too badly.' Harry seemed to listen, but his psybeam attack was thick and powerful. It smashed into the Meowth's chest and smashed its ribcage open like a mallet splits a nut.

The force also threw that cat Pokémon onto his back and sent the broken Pokémon sliding backwards through the dirt. Jack bit his lip angrily, 'what the hell are you doing? I told you to go easy on him!' Harry spoke as if Jack did not deserve a reply _the weak should be weeded out. Only the strong should survive in this world. That is how God intended it. The Meowth was weak. It deserved to be-_

Jack recalled the Pokémon it mid sentence and held up his hand in apology. 'I'm sorry for that, I did not mean to hurt your Pokémon so bad.' He looked at the pathetic teenager in front of him, 'I suggest you get another Pokémon and train yours up better. Who knows what could happen then? You could even be a Champion!' The boy smiled and thanked him, 'I'm Enrique, I got this Pokémon in Hoenn – it was considered very rare there – but when I moved to Kanto I found that it was actually quite common.'

He smiled ruefully and his eyes unfocused slightly, 'just my luck eh...' His eyes suddenly focussed, 'how long have you had your Pokémon?' Jack shrugged as he counted up the days in his head, 'about a week, maybe less.' Enrique sighed and sat down on the ground heavily, 'and you beat me that easily. I've had my friend here for two years! I'm going to train harder and I will beat you soon.'

Jack nodded and left to find more Pokémon trainers to train against. He hoped that the disobedience was just a one-time thing, and searched for ways to try and make his peace with the troublesome Pokémon. He decided that talking it out was a good place to start. He released Harry again, and watched in disgust as the psychic Pokémon flicked a ball of energy towards a young, chattering Pidgey. The ball hit the bird Pokémon in the neck, killing it instantly. The small, helpless bird collapsed heavily on the ground, lying there pathetic and pitiful and Jack prepared to lock Harry away in a box and to try and forget about him. That is when the family of the Pidgey came calling. They were very, very angry.

A group of seven, powerful looking bird Pokémon with huge, well muscled feathered wings and a long feathered, red, yellow and white crest blowing out behind him. They were the rare Pidgeot – a shy, rarely seen bird that was brutal when provoked. The loud battle cries of the birds preceded them, but their speed was so great that they were only fractions of a second behind.

Just before the Pidgeot reached them there was a loud bang, and clouds began to form in the low pressure around the bird Pokémon as they broke the sound barrier. At the last moment they flared their sleek wings wide, immediately slowing them down to a more controllable speed. Still travelling at quite considerable speeds the Pidgeot suddenly angled into a steep descent and smashed into Harry with sickening force.

The seven Pokémon bowled him over as if he was a piece of straw caught in a strong wind, knocking him heavily into the ground. The bird Pokémon savagely attacked Harry, ripping into him with a flurry of razor-sharp beaks and talons. Jack could hear the pitiful moaning of his Pokémon even above the savage shrieking of his attackers and began to shout instructions to his Pokémon.

'Harry, use barrier to stop them, quick.' Harry ignored his advise again and a crushing psychic force knocked off two of his attackers, sending them rolling across the floor like skittles. They got up slowly but didn't rejoin the fray, instead they slowly took off and painfully winged their way back to their roost.

'Damn you, listen to me or you will get killed!' screamed Jack, 'use barrier!' Harry still ignored him and another blast of psychic energy smashed through his attackers. Jack clenched his fists in frustration and released Dante to help his stricken Pokémon. 'Dante use flamethrower to clear off the birds.' Dante complied with his demands and a powerful jet of flame sent the rest of the Pidgeot scampering away.

They squawked angrily, raising their winds to make themselves look bigger, but a warning jet of flame sent them retreating even further. With a final defiant shriek the remaining four Pidgeot finally rose into the air and flew away, leaving a heavily mutilated Harry in their wake.

Jack had heard the term ripped to shreds, but he never thought he would see it in the flesh. There was not much of Harry's body that was in one piece. His hands and half of his torso had been completely cut off his body and deep, bloody cuts covered the rest of his body.

Jack sadly recalled his Pokémon and quickly ran back to heal his Pokémon. That would not keep him for long from returning to his training. He just hoped that after this event Harry would decide to comply with him.


	8. Rematch

For the next few days Jack trained the hardest he ever had in his life. He was the first one out of the trainer's quarters in the Pokémon centre and the last one back. He worked his Pokémon very hard, almost mercilessly, but they seemed to revel in it. They put all their energy into the training, striving to be better, faster and stronger and when Jack asked for one hundred percent they gave one hundred and ten.

Even Harry, shaken from his near fatal encounter with the irate Pidgeot, began to work hard by the end of the second day's training. He had finally decided to trust Jack and grudgingly respected his trainer. Whilst his Pokémon were training Jack decided to banish his skinny physique and put on some muscle. He knew he wouldn't improve as fast as his Pokémon but that didn't stop him from working hard.

There weren't many trainers staying in Cerulean, and those who did stay were badgeless, perennial newcomers destined to spend their days as the downtrodden weaklings of the Pokémon world. Jack trained with them for the first day but after nearly an hour he had had enough with their pathetic attempts at training their Pokémon.

His hard training sessions had become almost legendary among the trainers there. They marvelled at how hard he pushed himself and his Pokémon, promising that they would do the same before reverting back to their old routine after a couple of hours of exhausting themselves. They did not realise the contempt that Jack felt for them, they just thought that he was focused and therefore cold and distant.

After a week of hard training Jack knew he was ready for a battle with Misty. He arrived at the gym with his game face on and knocked sharply on the door. They were slowly opened and a familiar voice called out, 'I wondered when you would turn up. To be honest I was getting slightly bored of waiting.' She skipped over to the gym leader's platform, a large wooden box that raised her up above her challengers and looked down on Jack.

'Come on, get ready.' Jack walked across the edge of the pool so he was opposite her and released his first Pokémon into the fray. Misty nodded at the Pokémon in front of her, 'just as I expected. I'll have a nice surprise for you.'

Her Staryu faced off against Asrael for only the second time in a week and trilled softly, a strange mixture of beeps and chirrups woven together in an obtuse melody. The round, smooth gem at the centre glowed brightly as it initiated the battle. Its attack was the same as the first time they battled. It sprayed bubbles forcefully towards Asrael who winced when they exploded hard against his body.

They felt less like semi-solid, thin bubbles and more like very hard rocks as they crashed into his body, nearly jolting him out of the air. 'Asrael counter with thundershock and keep using it until the Staryu is beaten,' order Jack, watching in satisfaction as a powerful ball of electricity hit the Staryu right in the centre.

With one attack it was burnt and bloodied and nearly defeated. It plunged into the water to soothe the its wounds and swam around faster and faster as the water energised it. The Staryu was in slightly better condition when it exited the water than when it entered and seemed more than ready for action. Asrael ruthlessly attacked again, another ball of electricity shooting towards the vulnerable water Pokémon, sure to put it out of action.

'Staryu use ice beam,' called Misty. The Staryu stood firm against the powerful attack bearing down on it and its bejewelled centre began to glow very brightly. Its red light became almost a searchlight as it charged up and suddenly the air in front of it began to cool.

Suddenly the air began to freeze and a beam of ice shot incredibly fast towards Asrael. The two attacks hit their respective destinations at the same time, and both had a devastating effect. The electric attack fried the Staryu, like a cooker, for the second time it was burnt to a barely recognisable crisp by Asrael. However this time Asrael did not come off as well. The beam of ice hit him with overwhelming power.

The sheer force of the attack picked up the serpentine Pokémon and carried him through the air, smashing him into the wall. The ice also had a second damaging side effect. Slowly ice crept over the dragon Pokémon's body and after thirty seconds Asrael was frozen solid.

The frozen caricature of a Pokémon was twisted in a silent agonised scream but there was still a slight twitch as Asrael struggled to free himself. His efforts would be his undoing. He managed to shatter the ice, but only around the lower half of its tail, which shattered with the ice. The rest of its body crashed down on the floor and the two pieces lay there side by side.

The battle had ended with a joint KO, and Jack's plan for receiving his second badge was falling apart. Again. The two trainers recalled their Pokémon and released two more to continue the battle.

Harry faced off the Starmie with a familiar expression of disdain mixed with confidence. Slowly he raised a large hand and beckoned confidently at the violet star Pokémon in front of him. 'Starmie give it what it wants. Attack using rapid spin.' The spinner on the back began rotating, in all intents and purposes a spinning razor blade. The Starmie span towards the statue-like Harry, cutting through the air like an organic scythe.

'Harry, dodge it and attack with psychic,' called Jack, remembering the tactic that Harry had used to take out Dante. Suddenly Harry's calm, cold voice sounded in his head _You don't need to order me. I can read your mind and take the orders from there._ Jack nodded to himself and smiled gleefully as he realised the battle options that had just been opened up to him. He brought his carefully laid out strategy to the front of his mind and relaxed, knowing that finally _he _had the advantage.

Harry jumped high in the air, somersaulting over the razor sharp blades of the Starmie and for a second the barrier Pokémon hung in the air, as if suspended on strings. A powerful psychic beam exploded out of his magic hands, the shimmering energy refracting light into a multitude of vivid colours. The beam only struck the Starmie a glancing blow, but it was enough to force the Pokémon into the water.

Great fountains of spray exploded into the air at the impact point, quickly followed by yet more spray as Harry pumped two more balls of psychic energy into the water where the Starmie entered. Harry was still suspended in the air, the psychic halo around his head a testament to his considerable psychic powers, and from his vantage point his large purple irises diligently following his opponent through the water.

As the Starmie erupted out of the water, shedding the sapphire blue liquid like a second skin, Harry attacked with another psybeam. The glittering cylinder of energy hit the Starmie head on and again sent in sprawling into the water. This time the Starmie used the resulting fine mist of spray to its advantage, immediately firing rotating pulses of water at its troublesome opponent. The attack took Harry by surprise.

Not having enough time to raise a barrier to defend himself he was knocked off his invisible perch and sent crashing towards the water. Concentrating hard Harry created a solid barrier below his feet, breaking his fall and levitating him just above the surface of the water.

From this perch Harry began to fire off attack after attack into the water, trying angrily to hit the Starmie and unwittingly providing it with more cover as the attacks vaporized the water on contact. The water vapour covered the gym in a grey fog that was impenetrable to the naked eye and from within the cover of the water vapours the Starmie besieged Harry with a hailstorm of attacks.

Harry hastily erected a veritable fort of barriers, completely surrounding his body with a force field of shimmering psychic energy. The first wave of attacks was repulsed, but soon after that a couple of Harry's barriers began to falter before failing or shattering completely. The attacks somehow found the weak spot now created in Harry's armour and a powerful water gun attack smashed into Harry's chest with all the force of a mallet.

He was badly winded, and the loud crack suggested at least one broken rib. Tottering Harry struggled to keep his footing, but in the end his struggle was in vain as the pressurised water tossed him into the water. For nearly a minute Harry struggled under water, but finally he spluttered his way to the surface and bobbed uncertainly in the water.

The trainers still couldn't see a thing - they knew nothing about the last hotly contested encounter and were peering in vain through the thick mist. In his mind Jack hastily instructed Harry to clear the mist so he could assess the battlefield, and Harry complied by unleashed a thin wave of psychic energy from his body. The psychic energy banished the water vapour from the gym, clearing the battlefield so both trainers could see their Pokémon.

Harry hauled himself onto one of the small concrete islands with difficulty, wincing in pain as his injured ribs were strained, and straightened up to face the Starmie which was hovering in the air in front of its trainer.

At least one of Harry's attacks must have connected with the Starmie as a large crack lanced through the ruby at its centre and a number of huge yellow bruises were highlighted on its otherwise violet skin. With his broken ribs Harry wasn't in much better shape, but he did seem more fighting fit than his opponent. At an unspoken command from Jack Harry tried to bring the match to a dramatic conclusion.

He closed his eyes for a split second. When he opened them they shone completely purple as he prepared for his most powerful psychic attack yet. The halo appeared around his head, but this time it was much brighter as the level of psychic energy spiked off the chart. Harry held up his hand and pushed the air.

The Starmie was swatted into the water as if it was but a fly and the wall behind it cracked as the leftover energy, this time invisible, dissipated on the nearest solid object. Harry punched towards the water and the water seemed to warp as if a huge object had entered it at incredibly high speed. For a second all was silent, it was as if the universe held its breath. Then the whole pool erupted in a titanic explosion of spray.

The spray was thrown up with so much power that it smashed straight through the roof and carried on travelling for a number of meters before it rained back down on the gym and the surrounding area. The attack was so great that the entire pool had been emptied in it and the Starmie lay stunned on the concrete bottom – which had a huge crack, nearly a foot wide, running down the centre – its centre glowing faintly.

Harry smiled in triumph as he smashed his hands together to finish the battle. The Starmie had other plans. It was already moving and missed the death blow by millimetres. Behind it the concrete was melted by the whirlwind of psychic energy battering it and rose up out of the ground in a steep wave before being squashed with so much force that it was instantly solidified again. The damage that the attack would have done to an organic body was almost criminal.

The Starmie ignored its injuries, ignored the devastating power of the attack behind it and concentrated on taking out the incredibly dangerous Pokémon in front of it. It crashed into Harry and sent both of them sprawling, further weakening itself with the attack but weakening Harry more.

Jack bit down hard on his knuckles as he surveyed the situation, in one instant turned from in his favour to against him. Harry may not have shown it, but the psychic attacks had taken so much energy that he was nearly unconscious from sheer effort. His injuries may not have been much a physically strong Pokémon, but he was _not _a physically strong specimen and he was very susceptible to physical attacks.

With much effort and pain on his part Harry shoved the Starmie off him and watched in satisfaction as it dropped off the island and fell five metres towards the hard concrete floor. At the last minute it managed to catch itself and its jewelled centre flashed brightly as it managed to levitate itself.

The two injured Pokémon prepared their battered bodies for the deciding point of the battle, mentally psyching themselves up so that they could endure the pain that would inevitably be inflicted upon them. Throughout the whole battle Misty had barely said a word to her Pokémon but now she suddenly became vocal. 'Come on Starmie. You can win this, you don't want to be beaten by a clown. Finish this with water pulse.'

Jack said nothing, his orders already relayed soundlessly to Harry through their telepathic link, but watched as Misty finished the battle somewhat predictably.

The Starmie marshalled its remaining energy and slowly a rotating circle of water condensed in front of it. It sent pulse after pulse towards Harry, expending all of its energy so it could only flop exhausted onto the floor after it finished its attack. As the first pulse was nearly upon him Harry quickly erected a sparkling barrier to protect himself.

The water pulses hit the barrier, and for a second it seemed that they would overwhelm Harry's defences, but the barrier won out and the water suddenly dissipated. It slowly dripped own the barrier as it lost the velocity that kept it held together, leaving long, discoloured streaks in its wake. Harry knew he had won, but he barely had enough energy left to finish off the defenceless creature in front of him.

Harry knew that he respected the Pokémon that he had just battled, it was powerful, tenacious and had pushed him all the way. In no way was it weak, and in no way did Harry feel inclined to punish it for losing. Because of this, for the first time in his life, Harry was merciful. His attack was very weak, and barely knocked the Starmie out cold before losing all of its energy.

Harry turned round, his limbs feeling incredibly heavy and felt warmed by the approval in his trainer's eyes. The loss of energy became too much and he too collapsed into unconsciousness, but not before he had heard his trainer's approving words in his head.

Jack recalled Harry and walked round the now empty pool in the now roofless gym to shake hands with a shocked looking Misty. Smiling ruefully Jack began to apologise, 'sorry for all this damage,' he said, his voice full of wry amusement, 'it seemed our battle got slightly out of hand.' Misty shook his hand warmly and patted him on the shoulder, 'don't worry. The Pokémon League will pay for it. It's their problem now.'

She stopped and began to walk away. She picked up something shiny from her podium and held it up in the air with a smile on her face, 'I think you deserve this.' She handed him a light blue gem, shaped like a raindrop. 'This Cascade Badge will show that you have beaten me, and other trainers will recognise your skill if you show them this.'

Suddenly she laughed lightly, the sound akin to a tinkling of a crystal bell, 'that is the first time I've been beaten by a trainer in three years.' She sighed regretfully, 'my sister, who championed this gym before me, went unbeaten for five years and I had my eye on her record.'

They departed on good terms, with Jack shouting a final message over his shoulder. 'Another time I think.' Misty nodded. 'That time I will beat you!' She could imagine his quietly disbelieving face in her mind and walked back to her ruined gym suppressing quiet laughter. Someone else was also watching that battle. He was very encouraged by what he had seen. Giovanni rubbed his hands together as his devious mind began to run wild. Oh what schemes....

Another man had also watched that match with interest. His trusty Pokémon, all powerful and as hard as nails, nodded in agreement with his assessment off the talented young man. His mind was also full of schemes, but they were less devious than those of Giovanni's. His schemes had the theme of justice featuring very prominently in them, and the young man he had just watched seemed like a perfect bait for bringing a certain, scarily powerful criminal to justice. The man ran his hands through his long silver hair, jangling his steel armlets. He wondered how much would rest on that young man's narrow shoulders.


	9. Cowards

From Cerulean City you have three options. You can head dead south and traipse towards the notoriously dangerous Saffron City and battle the notoriously dangerous gym leader Sabrina. Most trainers don't travel to Saffron until later in their Pokémon career. You can bypass Saffron through the first underground path and travel to the port of Vermillion and challenge the gym leader there.

From Vermillion you can take the second underground path, bypassing Saffron again, and travel to Celadon. The third choice is almost as unpopular as the first. You can travel east from Cerulean towards the power plant and travel through the imaginatively named Rock Tunnel to Lavender Town. Rock Tunnel is pitch black, large and full of deadly traps and pitfalls that have claimed the lives of more than one trainer.

After all that effort of travelling through Rock Tunnel you arrive in the insignificant little Lavender Town which has a population of only twice that of Pallet Town and its only interesting feature is the creepy Pokémon Tower, a graveyard for the dead Pokémon of many trainers. It is said that one certain trainer called Red laid his fallen Pikachu to rest there. And another certain trainer called Green buried his Scizor next to the Pokémon of his eternal rival.

Like many trainers Jack chose the most sensible second option. With his Pokémon fully healed after his battle with Misty he headed directly south from Cerulean and travelled along the wide road to Saffron. About a mile before he reached Saffron City Jack turned off the road and walked towards the tall stone building which signalled the entrance to the first underground pass.

The wild Pokémon left him be as he walked through their territory, having learnt through harsh experiences to avoid the trainers around the area, but Jack could hear from their angry chattering that they weren't happy about it. A bored looking guard dressed in a smart blue uniform lazily waved him through, barely looking at his trainer id before admitting him.

The path continued underground for two to three miles, a dark and dingy place full of shadowy niches and suspicious looking items that also had a nasty infestation of Koffing and Weezing which the Pokémon League didn't deem dangerous enough to clear. Jack had not heard about this infestation, so he kept his Pokémon in their Pokéballs as he strode through, and was full of surprise when purple, pitted balloon full of toxic gas knocked him to the floor.

Its stench was almost unbearable, clouds of foul smelling, yellow gases puffed out of small holes in its body as it regulated the pressure of the gases contained inside it to stop it exploding. Jack lay on the ground panting and winded from the collision as the poison gas Pokémon hovered above him, its expression eternally blissful.

Jack scrabbled in his backpack and released Dante, backing away from the wild Pokémon with nervous haste. Dante roared at his attacker slashed through the air with a steel claw. The attack connected and almost immediately the wild Koffing exploded as the flammable gases stored in his body exploded out of him, igniting on contact with the air.

The explosion tossed Dante in the air, sending him somersaulting over Jack to land heavily on the marble floor of the tunnel, gouging deep holes with his claws as he gripped tightly to stop the shockwave pushing him backwards any further. The shockwave was considerably weakened when it reached the seated Jack, but it was still enough to smash him hard against the floor for the second time in less than five minutes.

Jack lay winded, his face pressing hard against the cold marble floor, before painfully pushing himself up and recalling Dante. He knew that a fire Pokémon would be a death sentence in a place full of flammable Pokémon so he released Harry. _Harry _he thought _keep any of those exploding Pokémon away from us OK. _Harry began to scan the darkness for any dangerous Pokémon and motioned impatiently for Jack to walk on.

They continued like this for nearly an hour, Harry scaring away any Koffing foolish enough to approach by searing their mind with his psychic power. As they neared the exit a huge, scarred floating Pokémon tackled Harry to the floor.

Its main body looked like a Koffing on steroids – huge, pitted, emitting enormous clouds of foul gas with large canines from its bottom jaw protruding over its top lip – but it had a smaller, sadder looking second Koffing attached to it by a bony appendage. Its two chambers seemed almost at odds with each other – one irate and angry and the other sad and doleful. Using his psychic power Harry threw the Pokémon off him and stood up angrily.

_Coward _he cried _weakling. How dare you attack me from behind? Stand and fight like a man! _The Weezing hovered out of reach, not deigning to answer, and released an abrasive cloud of poison gas towards Harry. The psychic Pokémon began to cough as the gas reached him, and suddenly collapsed to the floor as the gas began to strip his skin from his body.

Quickly harry dispelled the gas with a swift blast of psychic energy, but even in the short time that the gas had engulfed him patches of his skin were missing from his body, slowly seeping blood, whilst many red, weeping sores had erupted on his skin. Harry stood still for a second as he considered the orders from his trainer before he swiftly, fluidly flew into action.

Almost contemptuously Harry froze the attacking Pokémon into place so it could not even move a muscle. Then he erected barriers around it so it was completely surrounded by a psychic force field. Once the Pokémon was safely contained inside his own barriers Harry focussed hard, his eyes again turning completely purple as he used the most powerful attack in his arsenal. Slowly he crushed his hands together. Inside the cocoon of psychic energy the Weezing exploded.

The explosion was more powerful than anything Jack had previously encountered. It ripped through the barriers as if it they were paper, tearing through the wall which was in close proximity and ripping through the ceiling. The explosion completely destroyed the tunnel around him, ripping the structure to pieces and bringing huge chunks of the surrounding earth crashing down.

Just before the explosion reached him and his trainer Harry put all of his energy into erecting his most powerful barrier yet. The barrier held, barely. It bent inwards by nearly a whole metre but somehow it didn't break and energy of the explosion was stopped before it reached Jack.

Jack watched in terror as the shockwave raced towards him, and sighed in relief when it was repulsed by Harry. He gasped as Harry suddenly collapsed, the effort of contained the explosion too much and rushed to his stricken Pokémon. It was only when a huge piece of rock narrowly missed his head that Jack realised the tunnel was collapsing. He hastily recalled Harry and sprinted towards the exit.

All around him the tunnel was collapsing, pieces of rock and soil rained down on and around him, any big pieces luckily missing him. Jack had never run so fast in his life. His legs and arms pumped like pistons and he found strength and speed that he never had before as sheer terror spurred him onwards.

He reached the exit and shot up the stairs just as the tunnel completely collapsed, sprinting past the stunned guard who was glued to the huge pile of rocks that covered up the entrance of what had just been a tunnel. Collapsing on the grass outside, under the beautiful golden sun, Jack kissed the ground and promised himself that he would never go underground ever again.

His body ached all over and he knew he was covered in dirt and his clothes were quite badly ripped in places. A cheerful voice sounded above him, 'need any help there?' Jack nodded and a strong hand pulled him up. 'Thanks,' he muttered, brushing off his thin coating of dirt. 'Had an encounter with the Weezing?' the voice asked curiously, 'it normally catches out new trainers.' Jack looked at the tall, handsome boy in front of him and nodded slowly, 'yeah, you could say I had an encounter.'

The boy broke out into a winning smile, 'in the case I challenge you to a battle. I need the money you see, I need an easy win.' He sounded almost apologetic as the excuse slipped off his practiced tongue, but Jack wasn't fooled. He knew that this trainer was the kind who preyed on easy meat. _Why do they always think that I'm easy meat? _wondered Jack _what is it about me that makes me seem weak? _

It _did _seem to work out better for him though. They underestimated him – a fatal mistake. 'Maybe you won't find me that easy,' he spat, throwing Asrael's black and yellow Pokéball angrily towards his opponent. His opponent released a reptilian Pokémon dressed in crimson scales. Sharp claws graced its hands and feet and a large, flickering flame ended its powerful tail.

'Charmeleon start this battle with slash,' called the trainer, who stood confidently opposite Jack with a small smirk on his face. 'Asrael use slam,' ordered Jack, unsure about what type of Pokémon he was facing. The Charmeleon tensed its powerful hind legs and in an explosion of powerful muscle he powered towards Asrael. Asrael swam fast through the air with a flick of his powerful tail, unimpressed by the Pokémon in front of him.

The flame Pokémon's speed took Asrael by surprise and he wasn't ready for its attack. The Charmeleon slashed Asrael with its long, sharp claws drawing a scream of pain from the dragon Pokémon. Asrael rose above its opponent, blood streaming from large, deep cuts that had just been inflicted upon him. Roaring in anger he suddenly dove downwards and smashed the Charmeleon with his large tail, sending the Pokémon sprawling onto the floor. Not stopping there Asrael followed the Pokémon to the floor and wrapped his long, prehensile body around its neck and began to tighten.

With one powerful constriction of his body Asrael tried to snap the Charmeleon's neck, but stopped when the Charmeleon managed to thread its powerful hands under Asrael's body and pushed outwards with all its strength. For a second it seemed that Asrael would succeed, but with a heave of its powerful shoulders the Charmeleon ripped Asrael from around its neck and tossed it away.

Asrael landed on the ground heavily, blood still flowing freely from its deep wounds. Looking very weak Asrael rose up, balancing on the tip of its tail and looked towards Jack for instructions. 'Asrael use water gun,' ordered Jack, worriedly taking in his Pokémon's bad condition. Asrael took in a deep breath and sprayed a powerful jet of water out his mouth towards the Charmeleon. The cylinder of water hit the Charmeleon in the face, pushing it backwards along floor.

The Charmeleon tensed his thick, muscled neck to stop it from snapping with the force of the attack and dug its powerful claws deep into the soil to stop from being pushed back. Its efforts were in vain as the power of the attack overwhelmed it and knocked it over onto its back. It landed with a dull thud but quickly heaved itself back up. It was damaged, but not badly so, and very, very angry.

'Charmeleon cook that bastard with flamethrower!' shouted the trainer, seeing a win in sight. As Charmeleon complied and attacked with a flamethrower attack nearly as powerful as Dante's Jack panicked, 'Asrael counter it with water gun, quickly.' Asrael marshalled his energy and a thin beam of water shot towards the much large beam of fire. The two attacks met and quickly the flame engulfed the water, evaporating it into gouts of steam, before engulfing Asrael too.

When the attack ended Asrael wasn't moving, his body badly burnt. 'It looks like I win,' smirked the boy, 'hand over the money.' Jack shook his head, 'I still have another Pokémon and...'

Asrael's burnt body began to glow softly with white light that slowly began to brighten as something happened to the half-dead Pokémon. Suddenly the whole world was filled with bright light, blinding both trainers. When the light finally receded a whole new Pokémon floated in the air where Asrael had been. This Pokémon was fully healed and looked very angry.

His body was longer, thinner and a much darker blue than Asrael used to be, his ears were now larger and feathered, a small horn now adorned his brow and a small blue jewel was set in the skin just under his chin and two more were set on the end of his tail. Asrael looked magnificent, floating in the air with his long feathered ears rustling in the light breeze.

'.....And now you're going to lose,' Jack said, one he had finished staring in amazement, finishing his earlier sentence. Asrael's eyes were now larger and a latent fire seemed to smoulder in those depthless irises, and when he fixed them on the Charmeleon the angry fire Pokémon seemed to quiver slightly. 'Asrael use dragon rush.' Asrael nodded and began to growl, first quietly but gaining more and more volume until menace was radiating off him in waves.

The Charmeleon retreated slightly, trying to hold its own against the terrifying menace in front of it. It didn't see a Dragonair anymore. Instead a huge shadow, draped in darkness, terrible yellow eyes glowing sickeningly hovered before it. As the Charmeleon cowered from his mind tricks Asrael began glow, his eyes burning with terrifying fire and his blue orbs glowing painfully bright, as his latent power, unique to dragons, was called upon.

He moved so fast towards the Charmeleon that his body merged into an indistinct blue blur, and he crashed into the Pokémon with enough force to knock down a building. Asrael's dragon energy exploded out of him when he collided with the Charmeleon, enveloping both creatures in a bulbous dome of light blue energy. This dome of energy sucked sound itself out of the world before attracting the very air to its brightly glowing core.

Both trainers struggled to breathe as the air around them became an oxygen-less vacuum. Everything was still, frozen in place as the world braced itself for the explosion to come. Then the mysterious silence and stillness was shattered as the dome of energy finally erupted outwards. Sound suddenly returned to the whole in a rush of disorientating bangs and both the trainers were knocked flat to the ground by the flare of energy before being pounded by unnatural winds, created by the explosion, which scoured the battlefield.

After nearly a minute of confusion and chaos everything suddenly fell silent. There was a huge crater in the ground where Asrael collided with the Charmeleon and the grass had been ripped from the ground by the wind. Huge burn marks blighted the soil, which would not grow again for a very long time. Asrael lay at the centre of the circle, completely unharmed but totally drained from the attack.

He raised his head weakly and looked at Jack with trustful eyes before submitting to unconsciousness. The Charmeleon was nowhere to be seen, the only thing signifying it had ever been alive was a small pile of ashes and the faint smell of burning meat. As Jack watched the ashes disappeared in a flash of white stars as the remains of the Charmeleon were returned to its Pokéball.

Jack turned to his opponent, who could barely talk for fear and shock. The boys face was ashen and his whole body was shaking, but Jack knew that he didn't look much better. He shakily made his way over to the boy on trembling legs and held out his hand, 'I believe you owe me money.' Jack was glad his voice didn't betray him.

Mutely the boy handed over a wad of cash and turned and fled from the scene. His story, fantastic in the truth, would be embellished and exaggerated. This is where the legend of Jack Lovata was started.

But Jack knew none of that. Slowly he returned Asrael and walked towards Vermillion, still unsteady on his feet. There was a large road leading into Vermillion, very similar to the one leading out of Cerulean, except the land around the road was wild and untamed. A spattering of trees grew in the long unruly grass, each tree home to a flock of Pidgey with the occasional Pidgeotto or Pidgeot visible through the dark green foliage.

The wild Pokémon here, like the ones outside most large cities, were very wary of trainers and didn't attack. Instead they skulked in long grass, indignantly insulting the trainer behind their backs. Jack ignored the venomous insults and followed the road to Vermillion. The hard road was not helping his legs, soon the dull ache that permeated them became a sharp pain.

The pain became so much that Jack sat down heavily on a large rock, painfully massaging his injured calf. Whilst he was sitting on the rock he got jumped again by a trainer. He stood up grumbling, 'what is it about you trainers that makes you challenge people who are injured or resting? It's pathetic.'

His opponent, a tall red-haired girl in her late teens seemed unabashed by Jack's grumblings and released a four foot tall turtle Pokémon with dark blue-indigo skin, large furry ears, a long tail covered in soft, thick fur and a scarred, algae covered brown shell. Jack decided that both he and Asrael needed battle practice to get used to his new form so for the second time in less than an hour Asrael took to the field.

Asrael was now extremely large and powerful looking at nearly five metres in length and the trainer who jumped Jack was starting to have second thoughts. 'Can't back out now,' warned Jack, annoyed with being jumped for the second time. 'Asrael, use thundershock!' Electricity began to spark around Asrael's body as he let loose a gigantic, tangled web of electric bolts towards his petrified opponent. 'Wartortle,' screamed the red-haired trainer, 'use bide.'

The water Pokémon immediately retreated into its shell and watched with wide eyes as the attack, which certainly was _not _thundershock, bore mercilessly down on it. Just before the attack reached the Wartortle shut its eyes and braced itself for the inevitable pain.

The web of electricity converged on the Wartortle and for a second the Pokémon was invisible in a deadly cage of electricity. Then the cage collapsed and the Wartortle screamed as fifty thousand volts of electricity coursed around its body. If it hadn't been hiding in its shell it would have been certainly fried, as it was the Wartortle was barely able to stagger to its feet, its shell now covered in a thick coating of charcoal.

Thinking quickly its trainer darted in front of it and sprayed some kind of substance on it from a purple canister, healing the Wartortle of the worst of its wounds. 'That wasn't thundershock,' whispered Jack, looking at Asrael with something akin to awe. _No _answered Asrael, his voice full of mischief _I heard your order but decided to elaborate upon it. That was thunderbolt! _He laughed happily _that may be happening a lot now._

'Asrael, use thunderbolt again,' ordered Jack, trying to end the battle quickly. Before Asrael attacked the Wartortle suddenly broke into a sprint and smashed into Asrael with its thick skull. The trainer must have whispered an order when Jack wasn't looking so he was taken by surprise. So was Asrael. He was so focused on charging his thunderbolt attack that he didn't even see the powerful water Pokémon sprinting towards him.

Asrael let out a yelp of pain as he was knocked heavily to the floor, writhing wildly as he tried to shake of the Wartortle which had clamped down on his tail with large fangs. Whilst it was biting the Wartortle also viciously scratched at Asrael's skin with thick claws. Asrael's skin as a Dragonair was thicker than it was when he was a Dratini, but the prolonged attack bludgeoned its way through his protective scales to rip at the soft skin beneath.

Asrael began to scream in a mixture of pain and anger as the Wartortle's claws and teeth began to cut his skin, sending globules of blood spraying onto the lime green class, small ruby stones in a sea of emeralds. With a powerful flail of his tail Asrael sent the Wartortle skidding through the grass, kicking up large clods of soil and grass, and rose up into the air, radiating power.

'Asrael use slam!' shouted Jack, seeing the Wartortle's vulnerable state and wanting to take advantage of the situation. Asrael's eyes bored into him and Jack noted the mischievous glint in their endless depths. Asrael's tail began to glint with a metallic sheen as it arrowed through the air towards the Wartortle, which had managed to pull itself to its feet. Asrael stopped about two metres from the Wartortle and swung his tail round with unbelievable speed.

His tail connected with the Wartortle hard, immediately snapping its armoured chest and the attached ribs. The force of the blow knocked the turtle Pokémon off its feet and into the air, where he seemed to hang for a second, as if suspended on wires, before crashing heavily down to the floor. If it hadn't been for its shell the Wartortle's chest would have been caved in and its insides would have been liquefied, definitely not the first time that the organic armour had saved its life, but with its protective shell the Pokémon could still just about totter to its feet.

'Wartortle use hydro-pump,' shouted the girl, desperately trying to salvage the battle. The Wartortle's body seemed to heave, every muscle tensing despite its obvious pain, for spraying out water from its mouth.

The attack was incredibly thick and powerful. It made Asrael's water gun attack look like that of a small child, dwarfing it in size, thickness and velocity. The attack broadsided Asrael with all the force of a sledgehammer, snapping the bones in its tail like twigs and throwing it through the air like a small toy. Asrael must have flown for at least thirty feet before he crashed unceremoniously to the ground and moved no more.

The girl breathed a sigh of relief and pattered her Wartortle on the head, the Pokémon affectionately nuzzling her hand. To both trainers' surprise Asrael's body shivered then rose slowly and tiredly into the air, wavering but not falling. Asrael gave Jack a cheeky wink, his mischievous nature evident even in the heat of battle, _you didn't think I was hurt did you? Sorry for worrying you! _Jack sighed and barked out an order, 'end this now with a final thunderbolt.'

_My pleasure._ The orbs on Jack's body glowed yellow and sparks danced along the length of his body as he charged up the attack. 'Wartortle try and endure this,' pleaded the trainer, 'use bide again.' The Wartortle retreated back into its shell again, with an air of resignation, closing its eyes and tensing its body to somehow manage the impossible and endure the attack.

Asrael's attack was every bit as large as the last one, maybe even larger, and the mesh of power hit Wartortle to great effect. For a full ten seconds electricity danced around the shell like small, deadly faeries before finally abating. The burnt, unconscious body of the Wartortle flopped out of its shell, much to the chagrin of its trainer. Jack waited for her to recall her Pokémon before collecting his prize money and continuing on the road to Vermillion.

When Vermillion City was in sight Jack sat down to eat the food in his backpack. As he ravenously tore into soft, fluffy bread he had bought from a baker in Cerulean he felt a tap on the shoulder. _Another _trainer stood over him, obviously challenging him. 'Piss off,' answered Jack, his mouth full of food, 'can't you see I'm eating.

He turned away and was yanked to his feet by someone a lot stronger than him, accidentally spilling the last of the bread onto the grass as he did so. Mud covered the delicious, expensive, freshly baked bread and Jack swore loudly, rounding on the trainer angrily.

'You're going to pay for that,' he yelled, spitting bread right into the trainer's eyes. Jack shoved the trainer and stalked to a spot around ten metres away. 'The sooner we get started the sooner I can get back to my food. Jumping a trainer while he's eating. The trainers here are cowards. You're all bloody cowards.'

Like the other trainers the heavily muscled teenage boy opposite him seemed unperturbed, calmly releasing his Pokémon onto the ground. A green-blue dinosaur like Pokémon with a large red bulb surrounded by large ferns growing on its back growled menacingly at Jack, showing surprisingly large fangs in a blood red mouth. A beautiful scent wafted tantalisingly from its swelling bulb.

Jack smiled widely at the trainer who had attacked him before releasing Dante. It wasn't a nice smile. 'Dante,' shouted Jack, anger evident in his voice, 'let's finish this in one move with flamethrower.' _With the pleasure _responded Dante _I've never like grass types_.

Ravenous flames licked greedily at the air as they emerged from Dante's steel-toothed maw, homing in on their leafy prey. The Ivysaur only had time to brace itself, tucking its head tight into its body, before it was engulfed by the voracious flames.

Immediately the flower on the Ivysaur's back exploded into flame, burning and wilting until only a faint skeleton of the bulb was left. The leaves were burnt to ashes and the Ivysaur's body was covered in soot and dirt. Under its coating large white blisters could be seen on its green skin as well as angry red sores inflicted by the boiling flame.

With the loss of its bulb came the loss of all the grass attacks which made the Ivysaur such a dangerous opponent, however it could still use physical attacks.

'Ivysaur use takedown,' called the trainer, worriedly running his hands through his spiky black air. Jack shook his head in disbelief, 'rookie mistake. Really, really bad mistake.' He sighed, 'Dante finish this with iron head.' The two Pokémon began to run towards each other, both gathering speed until they were running surprisingly fast for stocky, four-legged Pokémon.

The Ivysaur powered towards Dante with his shoulder, meaning to crush him into the ground. Dante was having none of it. He caught the attack on his armoured skull, the Ivysaur's body bruised badly on impact, before tossing the creature through the air to land heavily on the ground. It didn't look like it was moving any time soon. Suddenly Jack saw the wooden stump of something begin to push itself through the Ivysaur's back, and cursed as it began to glow with a pure, white light. He knew what was happening next.

The glowing reached its peak as the Ivysaur's body was gripped by a molecular change peculiar to Pokémon before dying down to show a formidable opponent. The Ivysaur had more than doubled in size. Its body was now hugely powerful and muscular, its skin hard and pitted. The bulb on its back had been replaced by a large red flower with an enticing golden centre held up by a thick wooden stem.

_I'm a Venusaur_ crowed the Pokémon in triumph, turning its blood-shot red eyes on Dante _now you will lose forest-burner._ The Venusaur was now larger than Dante, though probably not as heavy, but Dante didn't seem worried. Without a command from Jack it attacked with another flamethrower, trying to crush it again.

The flames reached Venusaur and for a second the Pokémon was engulfed by a raging inferno. The flower and leaves began to get eaten by the fire, huge chunks disintegrating in the flame. However as quickly as the flower was burnt, it healed even quicker and when the attack abated the Venusaur only seemed moderately weakened. 'Venusaur use razor leaf,' shouted the trainer who seemed extremely confident.

_I still have the type advantage_ thought Jack, gritting his teeth as he hurriedly adapted his plan. 'Dante burn those leaves with flamethrower.' Large leaves with barbed, serrated edges swooped in from the surrounding areas to hover in front of the Venusaur before scything through the air towards Dante. Dante belched gouts of flame and watched in satisfaction as the leaves wilted and dropped lifeless to the floor.

'Now Dante use iron head again!' shouted Jack. 'Venusaur match him with takedown.' Both Pokémon charged towards each other, and Jack had a strong sense of déjà vu for just minutes earlier, except this time Dante was the smaller Pokémon.

The two Pokémon collided with enormous strength. The collision actually created a shockwave of energy that travelled through the soil, creating small earth tremors before dissipating. The Pokémon were evenly matched. The Venusaur was larger but Dante had the weight advantage because of his steel plating and was holding his own. Both Pokémon dug into the ground with large claws as their thick limbs strained to push the other back.

Dante's enormous claws scored deep trenches in the ground, but he could get more purchase with them and slowly began to push the big grass Pokémon back. The muscles in the Venusaur's huge neck bunched together as it struggled to hold Dante's advance but it was to no avail. Slowly the Venusaur's front legs were lifted off the floor as Dante began to crank up the pressure, and suddenly Dante tossed the huge creature onto its back with a flick of his powerful body.

As the Venusaur struggled on its back Dante attacked with a flurry of powerful punches and slashes, ripping through the Venusaur's thick skin and damaging internal organs. With a powerful kick Dante was sent somersaulting away to land heavily on his side where he lay for a moment. Both Pokémon struggled to their feet and faced off again, expressions deadly. 'Venusaur let's end this, use petal dance.'

The Venusaur grinned evilly as it called on nature and a huge tornado of spiky leaves and petals engulfed it. With this razor sharp shield the Venusaur smashed into Dante with a powerful attack. Dante yelled as the leaves and petals sliced through his skin, leaving innumerable small cuts the covered his whole body.

Dante tossed the Venusaur away but the tornado left its creator and closed in around Dante, preparing to rip him to shreds. 'Dante,' shouted Jack, trying to keep calm in the face of such impressive power, 'burn the leaves! Don't let that leaf type beat you.'

Dante managed to ignore the tornado threatening to rip him to shreds, put aside his panic and set his body on flame. The flames on his body burnt bright, hard and hot and soon the tornado of leaves and petals were burnt to a crisp, falling down on Dante's body like ashy snow. 'Now Dante use fire blast!' Dante's eyes became pits of flame as he prepared to use much of his energy with this powerful fire attack.

The flame began building in his throat, but it stayed there for much longer than a normal flamethrower attack. Suddenly Dante could hold back the flames no longer and they exploded from his mouth in an unstoppable torrent. The flame engulfed the Venusaur in a swirling mass of 1000 degree flame and the poor Pokémon's deep bellows of pain could be heard even above the raging of the fire.

The torrent just did not stop. Fire poured out of Dante's mouth for a good thirty seconds before spluttering to a halt. It was complete overkill. The damage was done within the first five seconds, the rest just increased the damage. The Venusaur lay on the ground, bright flames feeding on its body. It looked like a beacon, smoke billowed off its body into the sky, merely the kindling for the rapacious fire feeding on it.

The trainer quickly recalled the Venusaur, not wanting to submit it to anymore suffering. He turned round and glared at Jack. Jack's returning glare was deadpan. He slowly walked towards the trainer and held out his hands. The trainer clenched his fists and really looked like he would punch Jack in the face.

Jack knew he probably deserved it, but in his mind it was the other trainer's fault for attacking him. What happens in the battle arena happens, they are dangerous places which can inflict great pain and great fame. To Jack the pain didn't matter, it was the fame and achievement that interested him.

After the trainer reluctantly handed over his money Jack turned round and walked the rest of the way to Vermillion City cursing the trainers under his breath. The distance between Cerulean and Viridian was less than ten miles, but it had taken him over twelve hours to walk the distance. It was an extremely grumpy and irritated trainer that finally reached Vermillion City in the pitch blackness.


	10. Surge

Jack woke up late the next morning having slept for over twelve hours following his hectic day. Stretching languidly he exited the Pokémon centre and decided to explore Vermillion City. He had been so focused on training his Pokémon and beating the gym leaders in previous cities that he hadn't made time to just explore and lose himself in the sights and smells of a brand new place.

Vermillion City was a bustling port with overseas connections to both Hoenn and Sinnoh and many ships ranging from huge, rusting metal tankers to small, rickety fishing boats made out of planks of driftwood nailed precariously together. Thousands of sailors passed through each day and Jack watched fascinated as a dark skinned sailor from the sunny land of Hoenn strode past accompanied by a large green Pokémon.

It was about five foot tall, with a double-crested head, a huge leafy tail that was nearly as big as its body, sharp leafy projectiles protruding from its forearms and large yellow bulbs sprouting from its back. The Pokémon was chattering to itself happily but its accent was such a thick Southern drawl that Jack couldn't understand a word.

Jack turned around and stared at another sailor, incredibly pale skinned with a head of flaming hair, from the cold, mountainous towns of the northern Sinnoh region. A huge Pokémon, one that looked to be over seven foot tall, followed him long, thick white hair rustling in the sea breeze.

It grunted and swore in a sibilant accent as it lugged a huge metal crate in its green-furred, three-fingered hands. 'Come on Yuki,' called the sailor seeing the huge Pokémon had fallen behind. _Yuki _it hissed to itself _Yuki. I'm an Abomasnow dammit not a goddamn Shinx! _Jack chuckled to himself as he heard this, though he was surprised that the sailor hadn't heard his Pokémon.

Jack's wonderings brought him to the eastern edge of Vermillion and as he began to walk through the sparsely spaced trees of a quiet copse he suddenly heard a loud screaming sound. Jack began to run eastwards towards the large barbed-wire fence and gatehouse which separated and protected the edge of Vermillion from the Pokémon outside.

Suddenly a group of people, trainers from their clothing, sprinted out of the gatehouse with real fear in their eyes. There was a loud roar of anger behind them and a shape smashed through the barbed wire fence. It was a yellow Pokémon with a ruff of white fur round its neck, now ripped and bloodied, and a small pendulum in its hand which had been broken in half. The Pokémon tried to push itself up, but it only managed to push itself up on its hand and knees before it collapsed. It was still conscious, but barely.

The Pokémon's trainer followed it through the fence, sprinting and screaming at the top of his voice, 'run,' he screamed, 'it's awake! RUN!' Another loud roar echoed through the copse, louder and closer this time, and the trainer gave another terrified yelp and sprinted past his injured Pokémon. He was so terrified that he didn't even recall it, just sprinted straight past without even sparing it a glance.

A huge Pokémon ripped its way through the remnants of the fence, ignoring the barbed wire and ripping two, two hundred pound fence posts out of the ground as if they weighed nothing. The Pokémon roared angrily, its eyes red and bloodshot, and smashed the two fence posts together with such force that the wood disintegrated. It was bleeding from two dozen superficial cuts but it the wounds didn't seem to affect it.

Jack pointed his Pokédex at the Pokémon **Snorlax the sleeping Pokémon. Very lazy, it just eats and sleeps. As its rotund bulk builds it becomes steadily more slothful. Wake up a sleeping Snorlax at your peril, if its happy dreams are interrupted the Pokémon goes on a vicious rampage, using its incredibly strength to destroy anything in its path. **

As the voice boomed out of the Pokédex's speakers the Snorlax fixed its piggy eyes on Jack. It ominously brought its large paws together with a resounding slap and began to waddle slowly towards Jack. 'Oh shit,' exclaimed Jack, backing away extremely quickly. He assessed his options and released Dante, feeling that he would be a safe bet.

'Dante use flamethrower,' yelled Jack, not realising he was making a big mistake. The flames washed over the Snorlax for about thirty seconds before abating, and Jack looked in horror at the unharmed Pokémon. Its skin was barely burnt from the attack, and Jack realised with a sinking feeling that he had just succeeded in making it very, _very _angry.

The Snorlax's roar was so loud that that the sound seemed to be a physical force, dislodging Pidgey from their nests for miles around and sending Rattata bolting for their 'safe' burrows. Even Dante seemed slightly taken aback by his ineffective attack, and for the first time ever he began to give ground to another Pokémon.

The Snorlax cleared the distance between itself and Dante with a huge jump, hitting the ground with enough force to shake the earth, and landed a huge punch on Dante. Dante was knocked off his feet and sent rolling along the ground for nearly five metres before he stopped and tottered to his feet. The attack had hit him on the shoulder, so was ineffectual, but Dante was shaken by its sheer force.

'Dante use iron head,' ordered Jack. He had decided that he wanted this incredible Pokémon as part of his team and he would capture it if it killed him. Dante exercised his shoulder gingerly, then charged towards the enormous Pokémon. The Snorlax sat down heavily on the ground and tensed its enormous shoulders – over six feet from left to right.

Dante's speed surprised the Snorlax and he connected with its midriff before it had time to land a punch. The Snorlax skidded back slightly and clutched its stomach, but otherwise seemed unharmed by the attack. Then it landed another huge punch on Dante, again knocking the now four hundred pound creature onto its back with contemptuous ease. Dante struggled to his feet, starting to look battered by the beating he had taken, and looked towards Jack for orders.

'Punch it in the face,' shouted Jack, realising that there was so much fat on the Snorlax's body that an attack anywhere else would do next to no damage. Dante leapt towards the Snorlax and smashed its face with a number of powerful crunches accompanied by sickening cracks. Those punches hurt, the Snorlax roared in pain and surprise and grasped one of Dante's arms.

The Snorlax began to spin round, gaining speed rapidly, and threw Dante through the air. Dante landed heavily on the ground thirty feet away and lay still for a moment before struggling back to his feet. He was limping badly now and held his bruised right foreleg off the ground.

The Snorlax touched its mashed face with a pained yelp. Huge bruises now covered its face and blood seeped out from its temple. Any other Snorlax would have gone to sleep now, to rest and recuperate, but not this one. It rose on its huge feet, now berserk with anger, and began to rumble towards Dante.

With each step the ground let out a tortured groan as the one thousand pound creature thundered towards Dante. Dante was injured and couldn't move. He looked in horror as the creature bore down on him. 'Dante use flamethrower again,' Dante stared at Jack _again? It didn't do anything last time? _Jack stared right back, meeting his Pokémon's eyes. 'Trust me.' Dante obeyed and attacked the Snorlax with white hot flame.

Though the flame barely did any damage to the rampaging creature it did buy Dante valuable time. 'Now Dante whilst it's still blinded by the flame, using iron head on its legs!' Dante limped slowly towards the Snorlax before sprinting towards it, groaning in pain as he did. Dante barrelled through the Pokémon's legs, knocking it face first into the ground with a titanic thump.

The Snorlax lay there in a daze, at least momentarily out of the battle. 'Great work Dante, now...' Jack pulled out a Pokéball from his bag and threw it towards the dazed Pokémon. He watched expectantly as the Pokéball began to twitch. Confused and dazed, the Snorlax couldn't put up too much of a fight, and within ten seconds it was captured. Jack breathed a sigh of relief and collected the Pokéball, placing it in his backpack. _Lt. Surge here we come._

The Vermillion City gym was right on the coast, and on the outside looked similar to the two other gyms Jack had encountered. Jack entered, and walked into what seemed like a metal coffin. Most of the gym was metal, the walls, the ceiling....everything except the floor. Large spotlights were fixed on two trainers who stood in the centre of the gym. Behind them large poles with blue, crackling electricity passing between them blocked the way into the centre of the gym.

'Welcome challenger,' said the two men in unison, 'we are the privates of Vermillion Gym. We served with Lt. Surge in the inter-regional war and you can only challenge him if you beat both of us in a double battle.' The talking in unison gag was really creepy, enhanced by the fact that both trainers looked completely different. One was dressed in a smart suit and carried a metal briefcase in his right hand and the other was dressed in the ripped fatigues of a soldier, had an electrical generator strapped to his back and had live electrical cables draped around his neck and shoulders.

Without further words both privates released their Pokémon. Neither was large or impressive – both around a foot tall – but dangerous electricity sparked around their bodies. One looked like very similar to a Pokéball, except it had no button and large angry eyes stared back at Jack. The other was a round steel ball with a large, unblinking eye set in the middle and horseshoe shaped magnets attached to either side. Electricity arced between both magnets accompanied by the faint humming sound of high voltage electricity.

Jack released his two Pokémon onto the field - Dante and Asrael who were both resistant to electricity – and gestured insultingly at the two privates. Enraged they attacked. 'Magnemite attack with thunderbolt,' cried the suited trainer as the other trainer yelled, 'Voltorb attack with charge beam!'

The two electric attacks jolted towards their intended targets, who both endured the attack with easy before retaliating. Jack didn't need to order his Pokémon all the time now, he trusted them to make the right decision.

Dante's flamethrower attack was devastatingly effective on the Magnemite. Its steel body bubbled and melted as it was subjected to the extreme heat and the Pokémon dropped to the floor as a deformed mass of rapidly cooling steel, unconscious after one attack.

Asrael hit the highly volatile Voltorb with an iron tail attack that shattered the creature into two pieces, releasing its stored energy in a storm of bright yellow sparks. The sparks were immediately drawn to the metal surroundings and grounded into the floor without harming any of the trainers within.

The privates recalled their Pokémon and stepped aside without saying a word, their faces expressionless. The electric gates behind them had unlocked and an enormous man walked into view. He must have been six and a half feet tall and he was covered in muscles that bulged obscenely over his weathered skin. Wormlike veins stood out on high relief in his ripped body and his teeth shined whitely against an otherwise tanned face.

'So kid,' the man drawled, 'you beat my privates.' He glared at the two trainers, who quivered with terror at the look on their lieutenant's face. 'I know they're not exactly powerful, but they keep me from having to crush the weaklings.' He stared intently at Jack, 'I would have put you in the weakling category you know, but you are full of surprises. I think that you may be a worthy opponent little stick.' He patted Jack on the back hard enough to make his knees buckle. 'Let's fight kid! I will shock you into surrender.'

Jack picked a Pokéball from his bag and threw into onto the field, expecting to see Dante appear. Instead an enraged Snorlax appeared in Dante's place, fully healed and extremely dangerous. Even Lt. Surge, who was nearly as tall as the Snorlax, stepped back from the furious look on the Pokémon's face.

'Woah kid, that's one angry looking Pokémon. Let's see how it deals with my Jolteon.' Jolteon was a yellow dog like Pokémon bristling with needle sharp fur and it looked distinctly unafraid by the hulking Pokémon that towered over it. 'Snorlax use body slam,' shouted Jack. The Pokémon turned a baleful eye towards Jack _I haven't finished with you puny human _surprisingly the voice was distinctly feminine _I will crush them for you but I will take no orders._

Jack sighed and prepared himself for a battle that he would have no control over. At Lt. Surge's urgings the Jolteon began to spark. Suddenly a veritable storm of electricity was released towards the Snorlax. As unaffected by the electricity as she was by fire, the Snorlax easily shook of the attack and kicked the Jolteon with a huge foot.

The Pokémon twisted its body to avoid the attack but was too slow and was caught a glancing blow by the side of the Snorlax's foot. If the blow had connected full on the Pokémon would have a full complement of broken ribs, but even with a glancing blow the Jolteon was knocked off its feet and slid backwards along the floor for a good two metres before coming to a halt.

'Jolteon, don't be a pussy and use pin missile!' shouted Lt. Surge angrily, and at the insultingly phrased urgings of his master the Pokémon staggered to its feet. Its fur became even more rigid and shot towards the Snorlax. Thin, razor sharp missiles dug deep into her fat, irritating the Snorlax but not actually doing much damage.

With an angry yell the Snorlax jumped in the air and landed belly first on the Jolteon. Lt. Surge winced and turned away. Jack winced and turned away. The privates winced and turned away. The Snorlax stood up, yelled triumphantly, picked out some of the quills from her skin and kicked the furred bag of broken bones with her foot. Lt. Surge recalled his crushed Jolteon and gave another Pokémon the unenviable task of defeating a rampaging Snorlax.

The Pokémon charged with this task was a small humanoid creature, less than half the height of the Snorlax, with yellow fir striped with black, a long cat-like tail and two antennae. 'Electabuzz use thunderpunch,' ordered Lt. Surge, looking quickly towards Jack and wondering why he wasn't ordering his Pokémon. The Electabuzz's fist began to spark and then the Pokémon slammed it into the Snorlax's face with surprising strength.

Similar to her battle with Dante, the hit to the face hurt her badly and the Snorlax fell to the ground clutching the place of impact. Both of her eyes were glued shut and weeping blood - the electric shock must have zapped her eyes quite badly. Suddenly she began to flail around in pain, moaning all the while. Jack put his hands over his ears to block out the sound, but Lt. Surge was smiling and seemed to revel in the suffering of his opponent.

'Use rest,' shouted Jack, 'use it to stop the pain!' The reply was full of agony _I can't, I don't know how. I've always been very hyperactive and my parents never taught me rest! _Jack smacked his head in disbelief. _A hyperactive Snorlax? _He thought _just my luck_. The Snorlax's flailing became wilder and wilder and her large foot caught the Electabuzz a smashing blow to the face.

Jack winced as the Pokémon's head was snapped backwards with the force, its neck nearly snapping. It collapsed to the floor clutching its face, its neck partially broken so it was unable to move the lower half of its body. Simultaneously both trainers recalled the badly injured Pokémon and spoke the words in tandem, 'I withdraw my Pokémon from the match.'

Both trainers stared at each other, surprised with the other's action, before nodding in understanding and releasing their next Pokémon. Lt. Surge knew that the battle was against him, but his next Pokémon was one of his most trusted and skilful battler, so if anyone could beat the young trainer, this Pokémon could.

Jack looked at the orange mouse Pokémon with the lighting tipped black-tail, long ears and sparking yellow cheeks and decided that brute force would be the best way to win this battle. 'Go Dante,' he said, 'use iron head.' Dante was exploding into action before he was even fully released, running at full speed towards the small mouse Pokémon. Lt. Surge smiled, 'Raichu, you know what to do.'

The Raichu reflected that smile on its own face and dropped down onto all fours. Just before Dante hit him he sprinted away, moving so fast that he was only an orange-yellow blur, and released a powerful thunderbolt attack towards Dante from behind.

The fire Pokémon convulsed violently as the electric attack hit it and collapsed onto the ground, paralysed by the sheer voltage of the attack. 'Whilst he's down, use iron tail,' shouted Lt. Surge. The Raichu leapt into the air, its tail taking on a strange metallic sheen, and smashed it into Dante's side. Dante groaned as the attack hit him, he couldn't even tense his muscles to brace himself because of his paralysis, and tried to retaliate.

He managed to raise stand up before his muscles gave way and he collapsed to the floor. 'Raichu again, use iron tail!' ordered Lt. Surge, meaning bash Dante into submission – he wasn't the most subtle of tacticians. Again the Raichu's tail began to glow metallically as it attacked, but before it hit Dante surged upwards, grabbing the Pokémon's tail and holding it in front of his face.

With the mouse Pokémon immobilised directly in front of his mouth Dante attacked with a powerful flamethrower attack. The Raichu managed to wrench itself from Dante's grip, but not before it had been badly charred by his attack. Jack clapped, 'nice work Dante. Way to go.' _I love playing dead _replied Dante _they never think that I will stoop to it, but it is surprisingly effective against annoying little bastards. _

The Raichu staggered to its feet, sparking angrily and let loose another powerful attack. Dante grimaced as the powerful electricity coursed through his body, but the attack didn't actually do much damage because of his resistance to electrical attacks. And luckily this time it did not paralyse him. He clenched his teeth together. He _hated _being paralysed.

Dante didn't need any order from Jack to know how to finish this battle. One powerful punch was all it needed to knock the Raichu out cold. The small mouse Pokémon was physically lifted off the floor by the force of the punch before crashing down, its small body bloodied and battered from its encounter with the much larger Pokémon. Lt. Surge recalled his Raichu and gripped Jack's hand in his own huge one.

His shook Jack's hand firmly, almost lifting the bony teenager of the floor with each shake, 'well done kid. You really have some powerhouses in that team of yours. You deserve this badge.' He pressed a gold, eight-pointed star with a dark orange centre about the size of a large coin into Jack's hand. 'Show this to people and they will have to recognise your skill as a trainer.'

Surge stooped down so that his eyes were level with Jack's, 'whatever anyone says, you can do good things and go far. Remember this in times of strife.' At Jack's raised eyebrows Lt. Surge laughed heartily, '_believe _me, there will be times of strife. Remember this when you're trekking down Victory Road, having been beaten to an inch of your life. Remember it and take hope.'

* * *

**Author Notes: Snorlax, it has been done before, but it is my freakin favourite pokemon! Who doesn't love a super fat but really strong pokemon? I know I have changed Lt. Surge's pokemon but his new team is much better than the old one. I will be doing that quite a lot with gym leaders in later chapters. **

**P.S. the next few chapters are going to get _very _exciting so stay tuned.**

**P.P.S. ****I have to choose a water pokemon for Jack in the next couple of chapters. I have in narrowed down to Gyarados, Lapras, Poliwrath or Kingdra. Suggestions are extremely welcome.**


	11. Friendly Competition

The S.S. Anne was the pinnacle of modern engineering. It was the biggest boat in the harbour – two hundred metres of brand new, gleaming chrome and glass. On the deck trainers playfully sparred, nothing excessively violent, just playful duels of strength and speed. It looked fantastic, a great place for busy trainers to have fun and relax.

A tap on the shoulder interrupted Jack's daydream. An elderly couple dressed in expensive rich clothes looked earnestly at him. 'Are you a trainer?' asked the women, diamond earring glinting in wrinkled skin. Jack nodded. 'We both used to be trainers but in our twilight years it has lost its sparkle. We don't need our tickets. Perhaps you would like one?'

Jack's mouth dropped open at the unexpected kindness, 'yes please! I would love a ticket, thanks.' The women handed over a laminated, silver ticket with the words V.I.P. written on in sparkly red letters. 'Have fun kid, because even trainers need time to relax,' said the man in a deep baritone, speaking for the first time. Shouting his thanks Jack walked onto the S.S. Anne flashing his ticket at the burly sailor guarding the entrance.

He did not see the old couple smile evilly at each other, the sun highlighting the red "R" tattooed on their forearms. If he did, he might not have been so happy and relaxed walking onto the ship. If he did he might have seen the dark figure detach itself from the shadows to stalk him from behind, just out of reach.

On the huge main deck of the S.S. Anne large Pokémon contests had been set up. Each one tested a different ability and Pokémon competed to see who was the best in a given activity. Jack saw contests for strength, speed, agility, psychic ability, fire manipulation and toughness to name but a few. No-one seemed to be taking the contests that seriously, people were laughing and chatting whilst their Pokémon competed and the winner would be heartily congratulated, the loser playfully mocked.

Jack walked over to a large marquee set up at the far end of the desk, lifting aside the white velvet flap so he could enter. "PRIZE AND INFROMATION DESK" was written in large letters on the back wall of the marquee above a pretty woman dressed in a smart white uniform. 'How can I help you?' she asked in a sweet voice.

Jack thought for a second before replying, 'what are the prizes for winning the competitions?' The girl laughed, a light, tinkling sound, 'ah, that's what all the boys want to know. If you win one competition you get five special Pokéballs, we call the Premier Balls. Any Pokémon captured inside will have an extremely luxurious stay. If you win two competitions you receive five special items that your Pokémon can hold to increase their abilities in certain ways.'

'If you win three competitions you get a special Pokémon egg found and donated to us. Neither we nor the donator know what is inside. Oh, and if you win five competitions you get to choose two of the prizes I have already described.' Jack nodded, 'thanks for the help. I'll be seeing you for that top prize in one to two hours.' The girl laughed at his confidence, 'we'll see,' she said, disbelief quite evidence in her voice. 'Yes we will,' answered Jack.

Jack headed straight over to the strength contest. Inside a large metal cage two Pokémon were wrestling. A large Golem was lifted into the air by a powerful looking Machoke and slammed hard onto the floor, the metal cage vibrating with the force. 'The Golem is down, Machoke is the winner.' The audience cheered, swamping both trainers and congratulating them on a good fight.

'Next fight is the last one. The champion after that fight will be crowned the winner. Anyone care to challenge our champion here?' There was silence as all the trainers shook their heads. 'Anyone?' asked the commentator again. Just as the commentator was just about to pronounce the Machoke the winner Jack stepped forwards. 'I do.'

With a resounding cheer Jack was shunted through the crowd to the trainers' box. He stood next to the Machoke's trainer and had his hand shaken warmly by a tall, buxom woman with long blonde hair. 'Let's hope you live up to your expectations,' she said, giving Jack a calculating look.

'Challenger release your Pokémon,' ordered the commentator and Jack released his Snorlax into the win. The Snorlax appeared to much clapping and cheering, and with this as cover Jack quickly tried to explain and placate the Snorlax. 'Hey Snorlax, I know you're feeling angry at me but I'm your trainer and we need to work together. You can start my telling me your name.'

For a second the Snorlax was silent then she replied _I'm Kabi_. Jack smiled, 'well Kabi, you're wrestling that Machoke over there.' The Snorlax broke out into a wide, confident smile. _Piece of cake! _Jack rubbed his hands together and looked up at the women beside him, 'scared?' he asked. She pursed her lips, 'more like interested.'

The two Pokémon grabbed each other and at a shrill whistle from the commentator/referee they started fighting. The muscles in the Machoke's body bulged and rippled as it tried to budge Kabi, but the creature was too heavy for it to even move, let alone lift. Kabi yawned and began to use her considerable strength. She began to push the Machoke back to the edge of the cage, smashing it hard against the thick metal railings.

All the while the Machoke was huffing and puffing and pushing with all its strength, and failing miserably. With a great heave of her powerful body Kabi lifted the Machoke into the air and slammed it back down onto the floor. The Machoke was a better opponent than Jack expected and quickly got its legs under its body, pushing off with enough strength to halt Kabi's throw. Growling it pushed Kabi backwards with all its strength and the huge Snorlax backpedalled hurriedly, her initiative lost.

The Machoke pinned Kabi against the wall and began to lift, the muscles in its huge arms and shoulders writhing and bunching with the strain. Jack looked on worriedly until he saw the smile on Kabi's face. With surprising speed and deftness that belied her huge size Kabi pushed the Machoke backwards, hooking her foot under his legs and tripping him up in one fluid move.

The Machoke hit the ground on its back and punched the floor in frustration, making a sizeable dent in the thick metal. 'The Snorlax is the winner!' shouted the commentator, 'and our overall Champion.' Jack recalled Kabi and amidst sincere and slightly over-the-top congratulations he walked towards the commentator and received a golden ticket to show he had triumphed. 'Well done, that Snorlax of yours is a beast!' Jack smiled at this, 'you have _no _idea.'

Next Jack visited the speed contest. _Asrael would be fantastic at this _he thought. It was all about straight line speed and the course spanned the whole length of the boat. Jack took a look at the times written in chalk on a blackboard, _they're not so fast _he thought _Asrael can win this_.

He entered the competition and found that his race would only be with one other Pokémon and it would be the last one. When Jack's time to race came he released Asrael and strutted around, supremely confident. His confidence only rose when he saw his opponent. It was a flying bug Pokémon with large segmented wings, red, orb-like eyes and thick golden skin at its head. Jack didn't recognise it, but it didn't look so tough.

The two Pokémon lined up side by side and with a sharp, loud whistle they were off. The bug Pokémon moved so fast that it was only a blur, within three seconds having traversed half the length of the ship. Asrael had only travelled about seventy metres in that time and was left for dead. Within another two seconds the other Pokémon finished, and had to wait for enough ten until Asrael caught up.

Its movements were so fast that it looked like it was attacking with quick attack – in fact Jack had seen quick attacks slower than that - but Jack knew it wasn't. He stared in shock, 'that is one speedy Pokémon,' he whispered in awe, not believing what he had just seen. The bug Pokémon's trainer looked at him in sympathy, 'yeah, old Tekky there is a Ninjask. They are the fastest Pokémon in the world, no other comes even close.'

To Jack's chagrin the trainer and his Ninjask followed Jack to the agility ring. The agility ring was a large aerial course made out of metal hoops on wooden sticks, ranging in size from large to small, arranged in a viciously twisting and turning course. Again Jack looked at the times and estimated that Asrael would be at least two seconds faster than the fastest one, but he knew that with the super-fast Ninjask there Asrael would have a hard time winning it.

Jack watched as a magnificent Pidgeot set a blistering time round the course – still well within Asrael's abilities of course – banking and turning with minute adjustments of its wings. An announcement snapped him out of his daze. He swore as he was again put last against the trainer and his Ninjask, and held a small team talk with Asrael. 'That Ninjask is really, _really _fast,' he said quietly, 'so we need to obstruct it in some way.' Asrael grinned knowingly _I think I have just the thing that you want_. Jack opened his mouth to question him but he was stopped _Ah, I don't want to ruin the surprise for you do I?_

After a small wait Asrael lined up next to the Ninjask for the second time. The Ninjask was raring to go, its wings humming as they moved so fast it seemed like they were merely vibrating, but Asrael just hovered there, languid and careless. The race was started and both Pokémon shot off the line. As Asrael whipped is tail fast from side to side he "accidentally" caught the Ninjask a glancing blow and knocked it to the floor.

Its trainer exploded in anger but the commentator waved away his protests, 'clearly an accident,' he declared, and his word was final. With five seconds the Ninjask had caught up with Asrael, but when they finished the long straight it stopped, turned its body and then flew off after Asrael who had easily manoeuvred himself around the turn. _Ah _though Jack triumphantly _that is its weakness. Excellent._

This pattern continued for the whole course. Asrael took each turn and twist fluidly, but the Ninjask had to stop and adjust itself for even the minutest change in direction. Its straight line speed managed to help it catch up with Asrael, but Jack could see that the commentator was frowning at the Ninjask. It seemed a travesty that a Pokémon who couldn't change direction whilst flying would win an agility contest.

The final series of bends weren't as sharp as the beginning and middle sections so the Ninjask began to slowly but surely catch Asrael. They were neck-and-neck going into the final bend and here Asrael pulled off his master plan. He took the turn at great speed, slewing wildly and purposefully creating a small pocket of twisting currents in the air.

Just as Asrael suspected the Ninjask flew straight into the currents and was caught unawares. It was immediately stopped in its tracks and thrown about as it struggled to release itself from currents' unpredictable hold. With great effort the Ninjask managed to haul itself into the calm air and shoot determinedly towards the finish line, but Asrael was too far in front.

Asrael crossed the finish line with a flourish, barrel-rolling and flipping much to the delight of the ever-present crowd. Asrael took a small bow, his face alive with excitement but was stopped as Jack recalled him, not wanting his already large ego to inflate even more. Jack ignored the booing and jeering and hastily collected his prize. He knew that the boat was setting sail in a cruise around the regions of Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh and he didn't want to be stuck on it when it finally left the harbour.

Jack tried his hand at three more competitions but had success in none of them. Dante was beaten in a toughness contest by a seemingly invulnerable Golem. Asrael was beaten in an electricity contest by a seriously powerful Magnezone and Harry was out-psychiked by an impressive Alakazam. With the announcement that the S.S. Anne was leaving in half an hour Jack began to get desperate.

He wanted that top prize, but he would settle for the egg. Pokémon eggs fascinated him and he wondered what powerful creature was hidden inside. He stopped at the only contest still open, a fire manipulation contest. _That is made for Dante _Jack thought, but then again he had thought that about the toughness contest at that Golem had destroyed him.

This contest was obviously very popular and still going strong. A huge orange lizard with a flaming tail and thick, leathery wings was trying to wrestle control of a fire ball from a magnificent Arcanine and failing. With a roar the Arcanine took control of the fire and it smashed into the lizard, winning the battle. Jack quickly signed up, this contest was perfect for him to win.

A ball of fire would be created between the two Pokémon and using their affinity with fire each one had to make the fireball hit the other Pokémon, whether through coaxing or brute force. Currently the Arcanine was the undefeated Champion, but this was quickly changed when a Flareon took to the stage and beat it hands down.

There were three challengers before Jack, and each one was destroyed with ease by the Flareon, which became more and more confident as each battle went by. Jack smiled grimly at this, it wouldn't be confident after it faced Dante, that's for sure. The Flareon looked confident when it saw Dante, but its trainer didn't share this sentiment. She started chewing her nails worriedly, her uncertainty written in stone on her face.

With a small _whumph _the fireball was ignited, orange flames flickering madly, and the battle begun. Straight away the ball of flame began to move towards Dante as the Flareon pushed, but Dante quickly quashed this movement and began to move it back towards his fiery opponent.

When the fireball passed the centre mark the Flareon lost its confident air. When the fireball passed the quarter mark and the Flareon could feel the heat on its skin it began to get worried. In a last ditch attempt to save the match the Flareon put all its strength into halting the inexorable advance.

For a second the fireball waved and stopped, then Dante smashed through the Flareon's resistance as if it were cobwebs and the fireball hit the Flareon in the face. 'Jack and his Pokémon is the winner,' called the commentator and Jack punched the air. He would be getting his egg.

Jack strode into the prize marquee and spread his three golden tickets on the desk. 'I'll be having my egg now thanks.' Slowly the receptionist but down her magazine and looked up. 'So you're back. I'll show you to the egg.' She got up, ever so slowly and walked into the back room, 'stay there, I'll be right out,' she called, her voice muffled by the thick velvet of the marquee.

After nearly five minutes of agonised waiting she reappeared with a medium-sized egg, about the size of a melon. It was completely smooth and indigo with light cobalt spots and cold, almost like it was incubating ice inside instead of a living creature. The woman handed over the egg, 'congratulations on your victory. I hope you look after the egg.'

'The scientists who looked at it said they had never seen an egg like it, so the Pokémon inside is probably very rare.' She looked and sounded bored, as if handing over a rare Pokémon egg to a fourteen year old boy was an everyday occurrence. As Jack walked out he realised he had seen something on her forearm. A tattoo of some sorts....

He never saw it coming. One second he exiting out of the dark marquee into the light, the next a rough, hemp sack was over his head, a sharp knee was jabbed into the back of his legs so he collapsed to the floor and a hard, cold metal object was pressed against his neck. Jack lay there panicked, breathing heavily inside the sack before a tremendous force collided with his temple and he was knocked out. A familiar voice that he could not quite place spoke just before he did so. 'I told him he would regret crossing Team Rocket. I told him he would pay!'

* * *

**Author Notes: Sorry for the slow build up but it was necessary as you will see. Now the story starts to get exciting. Will Jack escape Team Rocket? If he does how? You'll just have to wait and see.**


	12. The Underground

Jack woke up in a cell. Cold, dirty water dropped from a jagged crack in the stone ceiling onto his nose and the dank, furry bodies of rats scurried across the four metre by four metre cell, their large claws clacking loudly on the roughly hewn floor. As Jack sat up a sharp, stabbing pain dug into his temple causing him to fall back to the floor, clutching his head and groaning in pain.

'So the captive is up eh?' that sadistic voice was very familiar but its speaker evaded Jack's memory, 'that's very good. I can have some fun with you now!' A man in leather clothing emerged from the shadowy doorway and Jack recognised the Rocket grunt he had humiliated not once, but twice in the last fortnight.

It seemed that the man remembered this and the look on his face was....well angry wouldn't really cut it, a whole new word would have to be created to portray the depths of his hatred towards Jack.

Jack never saw the kick coming, the leather-booted foot crashed into his side with a dull thump and he screamed in pain as he felt a rib crack. Jack hastily curled up into the ball, letting out loud yelps of pain when the boot began to crash hard into his back. Just when Jack thought the beating would never end, it did and the man heaved him to his feet.

To Jack's surprise he could still stand, though his body screamed in agony. The Rocket frogmarched him out of his cell and along an endless rat-infested underground corridor with dank mossy walls. After nearly five minutes of increasingly painful walking they came to a door-cum-mettle cage. Slowly it began to open and the man thrust four Pokéballs into Jack's hands. '

Did I forget to tell you?' he said lightly, his voice full of terrible glee, 'as you're a trainer you're being entered in one of Team Rocket's illegal underground tournaments.' The door was still opening so the Rocket began to speak quicker, 'you'll be separated from the fight by a thick metal cage. You will release one of your Pokémon onto the field and it will fight the other trainer's Pokémon. When one of your Pokémon is down you release your next one.'

As he shoved Jack through the doorway he called one more piece of information, 'oh, and one more thing. Each fight is to the death.' He turned and walked away, smiling sadistically, muttering under his breath, 'oh I hope that cage is dodgy. I _really, really _do.'

Jack emerged from the dark corridor to bright, white spotlights and a cacophony of voices. He reeled for a second, his sensed overwhelmed, before a powerful shove sent him stumbling into the semi-circle shaped cage that separated him from the rest of the battlefield.

Another similar cage faced him at the other end. Another trainer walked into the ring, he did not seem affected by the loud discord of voices or the almost physical presence of the bright white spotlights. He looked up from the basin of the battlefield into the large stands built above and held out a hand and saluted. The ground began to cheer, and the trainer turned to Jack and pulled a hand across his throat. The crowd cheered even more.

A loud voice boomed along the tannoy system, 'Contestants release your first Pokémon.' Jack thought for a second before releasing Kabi into the ring. Quickly he explained the situation in her ear, speaking very quietly so no-one would hear what he was saying. Kabi nodded and began beating her chest with large hands, roaring viciously.

For a second the crowd was silent before the place erupted as the roving bet-takers were swamped by members of the audience wanting to make some quick money. Jack's opponent wasn't intimidated at all, in fact he seemed extremely happy by the turn of events. He bared his shockingly white teeth in a menacing smile and suddenly his eyes flashed with purple energy.

A vividly violet Pokéball surrounded by an aura of flickering purple energy floated through the cage, suspended in the air by some invisible force, and released a five foot tall, humanoid Pokémon with two bent, twisted spoons held in either hand. The boy began to talk in a voice that seemed to be composed of a multitude of other voices, 'no-one has ever beaten my Alakazam,' he hissed, his voice – or voices – low and sibilant.

The bent and battered metal spoons gripped tightly in its three fingered hands began to glow with a purple air. A discordant screeching sound began to permeate the stadium, first quietly then getting louder and louder. When the screeching reached a crescendo Kabi was picked off the ground and hurled against the back wall, cracking the stone and creating tremors which shook the stands directly above the impact.

Kabi picked herself up, already incredibly angry, and a thick tongue of flame exploded out of her mouth, catching everybody in the stadium by surprise. The Alakazam was covered in angry red flames and knocked unceremoniously to the ground. _Dante's been teaching me some new tricks _whispered Kabi, her grin positively maniacal, _and Asrael has taught me this. _Her body began to crackle with electricity as she unleashed a powerful thunderbolt towards the Alakazam.

This time it was prepared and the thunderbolt suddenly stopped in mid air. The electricity began to twist as the Alakazam reformed it, turning it into a giant fist. With a flick of its powerful mind it smashed the electric fist into Kabi's huge belly. She was barely even affected by the attack, the only damage she took was a large but superficial burn mark in the centre of her chest where the electricity hit her.

This attack only succeeded turning an angry Snorlax berserk. Jack could see the signs. Kabi's small eyes suddenly rushed with blood, her face contorted into an angry snarl and all her muscles tensed. She moved surprisingly fast for a big creature, rushing towards the Alakazam with murder on her agenda. She leapt in the air, readying herself from a destructive body slam, and was held there.

The Alakazam's hand, held desperately out in front to ward of the crushing blow, was quivering. In fact its whole body was quivering as it struggled to levitate the one thousand pound creature it held so precariously above its head. Kabi's whole body was immobilised, but Jack could see her become more and more angry. Suddenly the two spoons that the Alakazam used to focus its power snapped.

There was a loud screeching sound as raw, unfocused psychic energy exploded round the ring. The explosion was of such a magnitude that Kabi was tossed backwards through the air as if she was a feather, for the second time smashing into the back wall and spilling the drinks and popcorn of the avid spectators above.

Now she had gone completely feral Kabi seemed unaffected by all pain. She charged towards the Alakazam like an angry bull, being driven even more berserk as the psychic Pokémon danced round her clumsy attacks. Now its spoons were shattered it could not focus its considerable psychic power, so if it unleashed a psychic attack it would have no control over it.

The Alakazam was intelligent enough to know that unleashing raw unfocused psychic power would be deadly to anything in its vicinity – and it was a lot less durable than a berserk Snorlax. With its psychic powers useless the Alakazam was severely strapped for options, but with its IQ of over five thousand it certainly had the best chance of creating a new plan of attack.

Suddenly it stopped dodging Kabi, ducking under a slow but powerful punch and rolling through her legs. With her back facing it the Alakazam unleashed a flurry of punches, fiery, icy and thundery, with as much power as its weedy body allowed. Kabi was already off balance because of the momentum of her punch, and these attacks pushed her further over the edge.

She fell to the ground with a resounding crack, nearly knocking herself out cold on the ground. She lay there too dazed to move and Jack had to watch in horror as the Alakazam continued pounding the near unconscious body of its victim. This was not trainer battle, this was more like a fight between gladiators and who ever lost would be killed.

As the Alakazam readied itself for another punch a short leg shot out and connected with its chest. The power behind the kick was considerable, and the Alakazam's body was snapped. It flew through the air, its limbs flailing like those of a doll control by a madman, before colliding with the wall and slumping down onto the ground in a pile of broken bones. It wasn't dead, its breath came in tortured gasps as blood rushed into pierced lungs. 'The Alakazam is down and out. I repeat the Alakazam is down and out.' Words once again boomed out of the loudspeaker.

'Would Contestant Lovata please make the kill.' Jack refused, shaking his head at this. There was silence around the arena as five thousands eyes marked him as a coward. 'Contestant Lovata refuses to make the kill, so bring out the death squad.' The voice that echoed around the arena was gleeful. Jack wondered what he had done.

Suddenly a pack of small, but vicious looking dogs, grey with thick black manes flowing down their backs and large claws rushed into the arena. They looked almost rabid, their eyes red with madness and frothy flecks of foam covering their mouths and they were eager to make the kill.

Jack looked on in horror as the Pokémon leapt on the Alakazam and ripped it to shreds whilst it was still alive. The other trainer, who had been so emotionless before, was looking on with absolute horror. Suddenly he exploded and the bars in front of him bent with invisible force. With a motion of his hands he threw the savage Pokémon of his Alakazam and rushed over to it.

What he didn't realise is that these Pokémon were part dark type and extremely resistant to psychic – whether from a gifted human or a Pokémon. They easily shook of the attacks and Jack had to turn his back as the trainer too was set upon. The blood of both trainer and Pokémon mingled in large pools on the stone floor. 'Contestant Lovata is the winner!' the voice shouted, almost sounding disappointed. 'We hope that his next battle will last slightly longer.'

Jack was escorted back to his cell as roughly as he was taken from it, a guard holding him tightly under each arm, viciously kicking him if he went too slowly. He was bodily thrown into the cell, hitting the ground hard enough to knock the breath out of him and send stabbing pain through his injured ribs. The door was locked accompanied by the sound of rough laughing, 'he won't know what's hit him next match. That cold bastard Paul has never lost.'

After a short time the Rocket who had captured Jack walked in. He was absent-mindedly flicking a wad of money through his hands. 'Next match you are fighting Paul,' the man said shortly, the internal struggle going on in him all too visible.

He paused for a second as his internal argument came to a climax, before hastily pushing on, 'Paul is powerful. He has never even had one Pokémon defeated. He has a grass Pokémon, an ice Pokémon, a bird Pokémon and a ground Pokémon.'

He sat down on the floor next to Jack, trying to force some friendly companionship into his voice and stance, 'the way I see it, Jack, is that we can have a deal here. You win your fights and make me money, and I'll give you a nicer cell, better food etc.' Jack stared at him coldly, 'you make money from this?'

Not hearing the anger in his voice, or choosing to ignore it, the man nodded eagerly, 'yes. If you win I get quite a lot, and also betting on you I get lots of money because you're a newcomer here at the odds are always against you.' Jack clenched his fists in anger, trying not to let his temper get the better of him and ruin the only chance of improving his stay here. 'OK. It's a deal.' Jack shook the large outstretched hand.

'When am I fighting this Paul?' The Rocket's face suddenly became grim. 'Tomorrow morning. You better get some sleep because you're in for one hell of a fight tomorrow. Try and not get your Pokémon killed, OK!' He turned back, as if he had just remembered something. A large hypodermic needle suddenly appeared in his hand, 'sorry about this but you need your sleep and you're injured. This will help that.'

* * *

Jack's duel with Paul was in a completely different arena than the grubby hole he had fought in before. This one was also sunk into the ground, but it was three times the size. The floor was covered in a thick layer of creamy white sand with a smattering of small boulders. It was also underground, but it was obviously the main stadium.

The ceiling was smooth and clear and lovingly carved crystal chandeliers lit the solid gold stands and the red velvet seats. The bet takers here were dressed in smart uniform and they were joined by men and women carrying drinks and food, also in uniform. There were even boxes, beautifully crafted from what looked liked diamond, the insides ridiculously plush and opulent.

The trainers were not kept in cages here. After he had been scrubbed clean and dressed in expensive looking clothes he was chucked in to what seemed to be a plastic bubble. The material was very thin and didn't block the sound coming in or out, and it was also completely transparent so Jack had an unhindered panoramic view of the battlefield, and his opponent.

Paul was young, no older than fifteen, with shaggy purple hair and the coldest eyes, black like the depths of Hell, that Jack had ever seen in his life. His eyes bored into Jack, and when Jack looked away a spasm of deep contempt crossed his pale, pale face. He looked towards Jack and whispered, 'I'm going to kill your pathetic, _worthless_ Pokémon one by one.' Jack heard it in his bubble as if projected through a speaker – which it probably was – and for a second his body went cold.

A Rocket member who Jack had never seen before patted him on the back, 'good luck son,' his voice was full of pity, 'whatever you did you and your Pokémon don't deserve this.' He walked out of the room, leaving a small bulb of terror to begin to germinate in Jack's heart. With a deep breath Jack managed to pull himself together and he whispered back to Paul, 'I'm going to beat all your Pokémon, and then we'll see who's worthless. I'm betting it'll be you.'

Jack knew his insult wasn't the best, but he looked in surprise as Paul seemed to explode with anger. 'Don't call me worthless,' his voice was still a whisper but it was full of fury and menace, 'or I will hunt you down and I will rip your head off and feed it to my Gliscor.' Jack felt faintly nauseated by this, but his fear for this psychopath had diminished. 'Whatever,' he said dismissively, listening intently for the order to start. He would put this bastard in his place.

Suddenly the commentator began talking, his voice booming around the underground chamber, 'today we will be having a cracking battle. Paul _the destroyer_ Shinji is up against a newcomer, Jack Lovata. It will be four-on-four, with each trainer having four recall cards, to pull their Pokémon from the battle if they're being severely harmed.'

At this a faint groan rose from the crowd, 'don't worry people. This match will only finish after all of one trainer's Pokémon have been killed. There will be blood tonight.' The crowd started baying like beasts. They might have been rich, but their bloodlust far surpassed that of the "lower classes" who had been spectators of Jack's earlier match.

'Contestant Paul, release your first Pokémon onto battlefield.' The order echoed around the cave, its particular design causing the echoes to distort eerily. With a nasty smile Paul threw a solid gold Pokéball through a recently opened hole in the bubble. The Pokémon was released to the sound of blood-chilling battle cries that emanated from the Pokéball.

Paul's first Pokémon was enormous. It was a quadruped, a barrel shaped armoured body supported by thick, tree-trunk like legs with jagged, stony claws. Its head was conical, ending in a viciously serrated beak, its eyes an intimidating shade of blood red and two huge, bony spikes protruded either side of its massive skull. A grassy shell, seemingly too small for its body, perched precariously on its back with a gnarled bonsai tree, leaves hard, serrated and thorny gripping on tightly with roots embedded into its very spine. Three large mossy protuberances, also made out of rock solid bone, joined the tree on the Pokémon's shell.

A deep roar reverberated around the ring as the Pokémon made its presence known, stamping down hard with both its front legs on the ground so violent tremors wracked the ground. Jack was more than a little impressed by this, though he didn't hesitate in releasing Dante into the ring. Dante was quite a bit smaller than his opponent, but he didn't let that intimidate him.

He stood up on his hind legs and belched flame straight up into the air, lighting the sandy ground with flickering shadows. As bets were taken Jack whispered tactics to Dante. After listening to Jack's suggestion he nodded and prepared himself for what would be a truly titanic battle. 'Let the battle to the death commence,' shouted the man on the tannoy, his voice cracking with excitement.

The two Pokémon clashed together with a loud bang as they began to test each other's strength. Dante was smaller than his opponent but at least as heavy and the two seemed completely equal when it came to physical strength. Suddenly Paul barked out an order from his orb. 'Torterra use crunch!' The Torterra suddenly darted towards Dante's unprotected flank and attempted to bite down with its powerful, razor sharp beak.

Dante saw the move coming and quickly darted to the side, his speed much greater than the Torterra's, and headbutted the Pokémon on its flank. The Torterra groaned as it rocked up onto two feet with the force of the blow, before whirling round and smashing him with a thick, armoured tail.

The blow took Dante surprise, sending him sprawling backwards and nearly knocking him off his feet. Only his thick claws gouging deep into the ground stopped him from being toppled. Roaring Dante attacked with a powerful gout of flame, engulfing the continent Pokémon in an inferno.

The Torterra shook of the flame and stampeded towards Dante. The attack had done some decent damage, the skin on its right side where the attack had connected was raw and peeling and fire smouldered on its shell. It built up speed slowly and Dante, despite his considerable size and weight, easily danced round the lumbering creature, burning it with thin but powerful waves of flame whenever it came near.

After a short time the Torterra began to breathe heavily, tired and damaged by its battle with a heavily advantaged Pokémon. It closed its eyes and suddenly Dante shuddered. Huge green orbs of energy were being leeched out of him to heal the Torterra of its wounds. As Jack watched Dante began to sag slightly and the Torterra's wounds began to close up.

The difference wasn't huge as the attack wasn't particularly effective on Dante, but Dante looked slightly worn and the Torterra's wounds looked closer to healing. Dante shook off the attack and met the Torterra head on with a powerful headbut. The attack was stopped in its tracks by the Torterra's thick skull and like the beginning of the battle both Pokémon strove to overpower the other.

The Torterra was losing energy and it began to get pushed backwards by Dante's unfailing stamina. Dante began to push even harder, his claws digging deep into the sand as he struggled to find purchase so he could knock over the Torterra. Suddenly the Torterra disengaged itself from the tussle and quickly retreated before Dante could follow.

As Dante charged to follow he was met by a huge, muscular shoulder as the Torterra recklessly slammed into Dante. Both Pokémon were injured by the collision, but Dante came off worse. Taken by surprise again he was physically lifted off the floor and tossed onto his back. The Torterra looked slightly dazed by the collision, but at sharp, venomous words by Paul he shook off the daze and stomped on the helpless Dante.

Dante screamed in pain as seven hundred pounds of Pokémon came crashing down on him, driving all the wind out of his body and stretching his ribs to breaking point. Dante felt two give way and crack under the weight, and he thanked his lucky stars that his bones were strong and rugged. If they weren't, his chest would have ripped like tinfoil under the crushing weight.

Dante kicked out with all four limbs and connected powerfully with the Torterra. He heaved the Pokémon off him and struggled to his feet. He could barely move because of the sickening pain in his chest, but the Torterra wasn't in much better condition. It was absolutely exhausted, burnt and now badly bruised by Dante's onslaught and looked at his opponent with hate in his savage red eyes, panting heavily.

Jack shouted his first order of the match, 'Dante use fire blast.' He smiled with almost savage contentment as he saw Paul's eyes widen. The boy swore and punched the bubble hard, swearing comically as his knuckles cracked on the rock solid substance, because he knew that his Pokémon was going to lose. Dante's attack was the most powerful Jack had ever seen coming from him.

It truly was a raging inferno from hell, completely engulfing the helpless Torterra and hiding it from view for nearly thirty seconds. The flame radiating from Dante's mouth slowed form a torrent to a trickle and the blaze cleared. The Torterra was still standing, but barely.

Its whole body was red and peeling from the burns it had suffered, its whole shell was still blazing with voracious flames, the tree on its back was a gnarled, charcoal covered stalk and it was in no condition to fight. 'I play my first recall card,' shouted Paul and his Pokémon disappeared. He didn't hesitating in sending out his second Pokémon, 'and I send out my Weavile.'

A bipedal feline Pokémon with short, black fur tinted with indigo, a bright red crown and collar off thick bristly hair, two red tails and three large deadly looking claws on each paw appeared to face Dante. It moved with blinding speed to attack, slashing deep red cuts along Dante's flank before sprinting out of reach.

The attack happened with such speed that Dante barely had time to react before the attacker was gone again. Dante attacked angrily with flickering orange flames, but the Weavile was too fast. It was gone out of the range of the attack a long time before the flames reached it. Facing Dante's unprotected flank it attacked again. The air around seemed to drop in temperature as it froze the very particles of the air with its mind.

Suddenly a beam of frozen air particles shot from between its outstretched claws towards Dante. Dante twirled round and the attack hit him head on, exploding into thousands of razor sharp shards that covered Dante in hundreds of small scratches. They may have been superficial, but each one sapped his strength that little bit more.

Before Dante could even reply the Weavile attacked faster and faster. Soon it was just a black blur which sprinted around Dante, inflicting tens of deep cuts on his body. It moved too fast for Dante to get a hit in, easily dodging his desperate blows. Dante looked miserably towards Jack, out of ideas and look askance at its more competent trainer. Jack mouthed something at Dante and Dante smiled.

As the Weavile attacked again in a vicious whirlwind of icy claws Dante suddenly blazed with bright, hot flame. The blaze engulfed the Weavile, knocking it off Dante's back to roll around in the sand of agony, letting out a high-pitched keening sound as the blaze fed on his body. As the Weavile rolled around on the ground Dante closed in for the kill. He stamped heavily on the creatures legs, wincing as it screamed piercingly in agony, gesturing wildly at its now shattered legs.

'I play my second recall card,' intoned Paul calmly, his tone belied by the all consuming anger on his face at being defeated. He quickly calmed himself down as he released his third Pokémon, 'my Honchkrow will destroy you,' he whispered. His antics were beginning to get old to Jack so he yawned obviously, looking straight at Paul as he did so and frowning as the boy just sneered coldly at him.

'Honchkrow kill it with hyper beam!' intoned Paul again, his voice almost contemptuous. Jack didn't even see Paul's third Pokémon because a large beam of bright light was steamrollering through towards Dante, the very air sizzling as from its incredible heat. Dante met the attack head on, and was flung across the arena like a feather down the Niagara Falls.

He hit the wall with a sickening thump and lay still on the floor, knocked completely unconscious, his body battered and ripped. 'I play my first recall card,' said Jack as he recalled Dante. His brain was working in overdrive as he chose his next Pokémon, finally settling with Asrael to win.

Paul scoffed as Asrael appeared on the battlefield, his face full of surprised contempt, 'that Pokémon's not even fully evolved,' he laughed incredulously, 'my Honchkrow will destroy it.' _Shall I fry this bird Jack _asked Asrael, completely ignoring Paul's insults. Jack nodded, 'knock yourself out.'

The Honchkrow was exceedingly small for a fully evolved Pokémon. It was only about two feet high and three foot in length though it was stocky and powerful looking with huge, muscular wings and a barrel chest. It clacked together its long yellow beak menacingly and puffed out its huge chest even further to try and make itself look bigger. Both Paul and the Honchkrow were surprised when a huge net of electricity smashed into it, knocking it out of the air with a loud crash and burning it quite badly.

The Honchkrow painfully picked itself up from its impact with the flaw and ruffled its feathers. It looked in quite a lot of pain from the attack, it held its wing awkwardly and smoke idly spiralled from its singed feathers. Its eyes narrowed as it caught sight of the impetuous Asrael and it began to attack viciously, without relent. It flew very fast for a Pokémon with an injured wing and Asrael wasn't fast enough getting his long body out the way.

The Honchkrow smashed into Asrael's tail with great force and bore him down onto the ground. Though Asrael was over five times as long as the Honchkrow the burly bird Pokémon had him pinned down and was stabbing down with its sharp beak. With each attack Asrael screamed as the beak stabbed deeply through his scales and into his flesh, causing nerve endings to send screaming signals of pain and fire to his brain.

Whilst it was stabbing the Honchkrow was also raking Asrael savagely with its sharp talons, cleaving ribbons of flesh from the dragon Pokémon's body.

Asrael flailed at caught the Honchkrow a glancing blow with his tail, knocking the Pokémon off him and dazing it slightly. Asrael was very angry now as sent a powerful bolt of electricity into the floored Honchkrow. The bird Pokémon shrieked as the electricity coursed through its body and a powerful spasm shot through its muscles causing it to twitch uncontrollably for nearly ten seconds.

Asrael did not relent and knocked the fallen Pokémon with a powerful tail. The Honchkrow screamed as it was hit, but it was muscular and burly so the attack did not break any bones. Suddenly the Honchkrow began to glow with dark energy and a ball began to form in front of it. It wasn't so much made of matter than anti matter. The dark thing that appeared in front of it leeched life out of the surroundings, its very presence seemed to scream wrongness.

As well as being an abomination the attack was also very powerful. It hit Asrael like a sucker punch, he collapsed instantly and flopped to the floor, kicking up a cloud of sand as he did so. The Honchkrow let out a caw of triumph and began preening its feathers whilst chattering happily to itself, the words nonsensical to Jack's ears.

Slowly it made its way to Asrael's body and began to poke it with its beak. Satisfied Asrael wasn't moving the Honchkrow turned its back and began to walk slowly away. Big mistake....

Asrael exploded into action, smashing an iron like tail into the Honchkrow's back and following up with bolt after bolt of deadly electricity. The Honchkrow didn't know what hit it. One moment it was triumphant and the next its body was burnt and broken. It collapsed to the floor, burnt almost unrecognisably with a snapped spine.

_Never turn your back on an opponent _admonished Asrael, his voice full of amusement _they might not actually be down._ Asrael twisted to face jack _not too bright that one. _Jack laughed as Paul angrily claimed his third recall card. 'Hey Paul,' called Jack, 'seems like unevolved Pokémon aren't so weak after all.' The look that Paul shot Jack wasn't angry. Paul had gone beyond anger. It was stone cold loathing. It was a look of death. 'Go Gliscor,' said Paul quietly, 'use guillotine.'

* * *

**Author notes: Fun chapter this one, especially to write. I couldn't resist adding a Sabrina like character in to it, but he wasn't going to play a big part so I killed him off. Paul on the other hand......let's just say we'll see. **

**P.S. Please R & R**


	13. Darkest Depths

It was an almost vampiric Pokémon that glided silently towards Asrael on leathery wings. Huge claws that dwarfed the red arms that supported them clicked menacingly and a segmented tail was held out behind it for balance and direction. That wasn't the only thing it could be used for judging by the two large barbs jutting out from the furthermost segment.

The Pokémon glided serenely, though that was slightly belied by its frankly freaky yellow eyes and large jutting fangs which radiated the intention of doing something to you that definitely wasn't serene. The two Pokémon circled each other before the Gliscor moved faster than Jack thought was even possible for a creature of that size and build.

It was hovering above Asrael's neck in a flash, gripping onto the scaly flesh with both its huge claws. It was only when the claws began to dig into his flesh, cutting through the thick protective scales like they were cobwebs, that Asrael realised what danger he was in. It was too late. With a triumphant shriek the Gliscor slashed through Asrael's neck sending bright red blood spurting into the air.

Asrael screamed once before collapsed unconscious, blood spurting from a severed artery, staining the previously clean sand. The crowd roared with glee, completely overtaken by bloodlust in watching this epic fight. 'I play my second recall card,' shouted Jack above the din, recalling Asrael resignedly, 'and I release my third Pokémon.'

There was sudden silence as the whole arena watched with bated breath to see which Pokémon Jack would choose. Whether they had bet for him or against him a lot hinged on this next Pokémon.

Harry appeared with deadly intent, immediately releasing a barrage of attacks on his unsuspecting opponent. Using its surprising speed the Gliscor managed to avoid the bulk of the attacks, but one errant psychic ball smashed into its chest. The Gliscor was knocked heavily to the floor, but it showed good resilience and immediately rose back up again, mostly unaffected by the attack.

'Gliscor use aerial ace,' ordered Paul, grinning madly as if Jack had fallen into one of his traps. Suddenly the Gliscor disappeared, moving so fast that for a second it was impossible to see. It reappeared next to Harry, repeatedly smashing the frail psychic Pokémon with large claws.

The first blow had hit Harry in the chest, easily knocking him to the floor and completely knocking the wind out of him. Even though he was fighting desperately for breath on the floor Harry still managed to erect a barrier to protect himself from the rest of the attacks, giving him a badly needed rest to recover his breath.

'Now Harry use psychic,' shouted Jack seeing a great chance to knockout the Gliscor. Harry's eyes glowed eerily purple as he swiped his hands sideways through the air. It was as if the Gliscor had been smashed by a giant's fist. It screamed in pain and plunged towards the ground, its wings ripped and crumpled by the attack.

It hit heavily and this time was barely able to pull itself up, the powerful attack coupled with the hard impact with the ground had done a lot of damage. 'Harry finish this,' shouted Jack, his voice rising in excitement as he saw a win in sight. 'No chance,' shouted Paul, still grinning insanely as if he knew something that Jack didn't. 'Gliscor use night slash.'

Before Harry could attack the whole arena was suddenly plunged into thick darkness. The darkness seemed heavy and oppressive, almost like a living thing, and you could see absolutely nothing. Harry erected a powerful barrier around him as soon as that happened, twisting and turning to try and see where the attack would come from.

He felt fear for the first time that day. When the attack came it was more powerful than Harry expected. Gliscor was surrounded by a dark aura as his heavy pincers slashed through the barrier towards Harry. The barriers were ripped apart as if they didn't exist and a heavy pincer smashed into Harry's face.

Harry was knocked out instantly by the attack and he fell to the ground, his head twisted to the side and his face covered in his own blood. As soon as the attack connected the darkness that had covered the arena lifted revealing the beaten and unconscious Harry lying on the floor. 'I play my third recall card,' said Jack, worry now written obviously on his face.

The battle had gone from completely in his favour to completely equal and he only had one last card to play. He just hoped that Kabi wouldn't let him down. Kabi appeared looking angry as always, fixing her small black eyes on the Gliscor and growling with sinister intent. _Come on Kabi _thought Jack _please help me out here_.

'Kabi use hyper beam' yelled Jack, not knowing whether Kabi knew how to complete his order. Kabi nodded and blasted a huge white beam of energy out of her mouth too much relief from Jack. This attack was nearly half again as large as the Honchkrow's and it did sickening damage when it hit the Gliscor.

Its right arm where the attack hit was completely ripped off its body, flopping limply where it hit the ground. The skin and part of its flesh was scoured from the whole right side of its body and its right eye began to weep blood. For a second the Gliscor hung there, looking like a doctor's model with one side showing its insides and the other half completely intact, then it fell slowly to the ground.

Paul recalled it with a scream and twisted around in his bubble looking like a caged wolf.

'Screw this,' he suddenly screamed and released a huge bear-like Pokémon with enormous muscular shoulders and arms and huge, dagger-like claws on either arm. The creature smashed its shoulder into the bubble and began to rip wildly with its devastating claws. After taking a lot of punishment the bubble simply disintegrated and Paul and his Pokémon fell to the ground.

'Release the death squad,' squealed the voice on the tannoy, fear instead of glee now prevalent in his voice. The pack of wolf Pokémon ran drooling towards Paul's Pokémon, ready to tear it to pieces. 'Ursaring kill them,' said Paul quietly and his Pokémon quickly complied.

It ran towards the incoming pack, gutting the first with a powerful sweep of its left paw, breaking the neck of the second with a destructive punch, launching a terrifying two footed kick that completely decimated the third and disembowelling the fourth with all of his claws. In less than ten seconds all that remained of the death squad was a bloody heap of corpses.

Paul saluted the crowd before turning to Jack. 'We will finish our battle,' he said quietly, nastily before recalling his Ursaring and somehow releasing his Honchkrow, now fully healed. Though he completely dwarfed his Pokémon the Honchkrow easily took Paul's weight and powered through the air with great beats of its heavily-muscled wings. 'Hyper beam the roof,' ordered Paul, waving sarcastically to the crowd for the last time.

The Honchkrow's attack ripped easily through the ceiling and out onto the ground above, raining down large chunks of crushing rocks onto the spectators beneath. Jack looked on in disbelief as large fragments of rock pinned people to the ground, some even skewering their unlucky victims like kebabs. With one last wave Paul disappeared into the bright portal leaving the underground world behind.

A vicious punch to the back of the head brought Jack crashing to the ground. 'Don't you dare think of following him you little bastard,' screamed the voice, sounding more than a little hysterical. Jack lay unresisting on the floor as a hail of vicious punches and kicks from a terrified, hysterical Rocket grunt were landed upon him.

Luckily a wayward kick powered heavily onto his head, knocking him into the unfeeling bliss of unconsciousness. The man was still kicking him even after he fell unconscious, and had to be physically heaved off Jack by three other people to stop him from beating the teenage boy to death.

* * *

For the technologically advanced Rockets all it took was one injection to fully heal a half dead Jack, and when he woke up he was surprised to find that he felt fine. All the damage that had been inflicted on his body was gone after one miracle injection developed off the same technology used to heal Pokémon. Jack was less surprised to find that he was strapped down to his bed, tight leather straps chafing his skin.

A small man in a black suit stood over him, a man that Jack recognised all too well. 'Giovanni, what.....what.....why are you?' asked Jack, his confusion clearly evident. Giovanni laughed, 'I'm the head of Team Rocket kid, I run this place.' Jack's body tensed as he strained against his bonds to try and land a hit on a man that he now hated with all his soul.

Giovanni just laughed again, 'you thought I was a good guy when I warned you, all passionate and intense.' He broke off and snapped a sudden salute, 'thank you acting classes. I just didn't want you interfering with business, you see. Didn't work, but still...it was fun.'

Whilst Giovanni was chatting cheerily to him, Jack's face was contorted in hatred and he strained with all his might against the bonds that held him. 'Fights to the death,' screamed Jack suddenly as Giovanni finally stopped talking, 'to the death! Why?' he was almost sobbing, 'why to the death?' It was only now that all the blood and death had finally hit Jack, and it had hit him hard. He stopped straining and lay still on the bed, his body shaking with shock.

Giovanni shrugged, 'it doesn't hurt me and it brings in good money,' he said philosophically, 'what do you think funds this huge organisation? Money doesn't grow on trees you know, if we fail a mission we have to have a failsafe, a back-up which brings in good money. This is it.'

He looked at Jack with a wide grin on his face, 'don't tell me it's not worth it. That fight was _epic_! The public will pay lots of money to see you fight now. And we're back to what I really wanted to talk to you about.'

'I'm transferring control of you. You will fight for me now. I already have four other personal fighters but you have so much more potential than them. So much more.' He broke off with a sigh, 'you shouldn't be here, really. Good trainers like you need to be out there, challenging gym leaders, beating Victory Road, but you had to get yourself tangled up didn't you!? You just had to.'

He sighed again, shaking his head, 'oh well. Got to make the most of a bad lot. If you agree to work for me I will move you out of a cell into a nice apartment. You will be treated well, you'll get to train yourself and your Pokémon in a state-of-the-art gym with my other fighters, you'll fight only the best and most important fights and you'll even get to keep some of the profits yourself. If you refuse....' he paused for dramatic effect, 'let's just say you will still be fighting for me, but you will have no comforts. None at all. I await your decision.'

Jack struggled with his morals for a good ten seconds before deciding, though it was never really in doubt. Jack was a survivor at heart, and his instincts overrode his morals. 'I accept,' he said shortly, turning his back. Giovanni broke out into the widest grin Jack had ever seen and clapped him hard on the back, 'I knew you would Jackie boy.' His cheery demeanour was really starting to get on Jack's nerves.

'Someone will show you to your room, I will come to you with information about your next fights.' After Giovanni had left Jack was ushered out of what seemed to be an underground torture chamber through an endless labyrinth of dank corridors getting progressively lighter and cleaner looking as Jack was brought closer to the surface.

Soon the corridor he was walking down was smooth and clean, lined with mature oak panelling and lit perfectly by bulbs embraced in cages of wrought gold. 'Here's your room sir,' intoned the emotionless usher, opening the oak door to reveal a beautiful apartment painted in muted browns, reds and yellows. Jack smiled as he threw himself on the huge bed, _things might not be so bad after all_.

* * *

Miles away in the town of Viridian City an old man suddenly looked up from his coffee and swore loudly. When asked what's wrong he didn't answer, he was too busy cursing a young, naїve teenager he had met not so long ago.

* * *

As the days and weeks passed Jack began to spiral into deep dark depths of depression. True to his word he helped Giovanni. He trained the hardest he had ever trained, working both himself and his Pokémon past all endurance just to forget about the killing. Each kill was like a mark on his very soul, and with each kill he felt that a part of him died.

Everything he did seemed deliberately created to remind him about the heinous acts he was committing on a regular basis. Every match his kill count was announced proudly, every match a pompous eulogy about his truly unrivalled killing skills from Giovanni introduced him, making it impossible for Jack to forget his crimes, even for a moment.

It did not help his conscience that other seemed to elevate him to an almost god-like status because of his "accomplishments". Other fighters viewed a battle against him as a death sentence for their Pokémon, a battle on his side a blessing from God. People flocked to watch his matches, each one of the blood filled gladiatorial fights bringing more and more money to an evil organisation.

The worse thing for Jack, the thing that stoked the depression which threatened to engulf him, was that he was becoming numb to it. That was the first step. After you achieve numbness comes acceptance. After acceptance comes agreement. After agreement comes enjoyment. Jack woke up drenched with sweat on many occasions, too numerous to count, from bloody dreams of becoming a sadistic killer.

He had seen them in the ring, revelling in the pain and blood of the opponent, he had even fought against them, digging hardest to crush them into the ground. It was in these matches, against crazed opponents swallowed by bloodlust, that he scared even himself. In striving to crush those abominations, or so he thought of them, he began to stoop to their level.

He enjoyed the power he held over these people, and that more than anything terrified him. As the saying goes _power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely_. Part of him wished that he would finally lose, and that they would have the power over him. A very small part of him.

The only solace that Jack found in those dark times was in that of his egg. As it came closer to hatching the Pokémon's presence expanded out of its organic prison, probing the dreams and minds of those around it. The communication was tentative, tenuous and wordless. When contact was broken or snapped Jack's mind was invaded by bright vivid colours, half-remembered dreams of heaven and an all-pervading feeling of calmness.

Jack could feel the emotions of the presence in the egg, feel its childlike attempts to soothe his depression that was so alien to it, and that caused it such deep confusion. All it knew was the egg, and in that egg seemed to be a world of complete and never-ending happiness that can only be accepted by a young being with such little experience.

Its clumsy attempts made Jack laugh and this past time was what kept him going, even when he was plumbing the deepest darkest depths where man is not welcome.

Whilst he was languishing in the darkness of depression Giovanni visited him. 'How are you doing Champ?' the man asked cheerily, though Jack wasn't fooled. Giovanni thought Jack didn't know about the dark side of him, but he knew all too well.

He had seen one of Giovanni's fellow fighters lose, and had hung around after everyone had left to console him and talk to him about the battle data he had collected (a job assigned by Giovanni. A special device was given to an inactive combatant that would record all the battle data of any match, so the combatants can learn and improve) and witnessed something that would always linger with him whenever Giovanni enticed him with his silver tongue.

The pure brutality of the encounter scared him, and it had shown in his next match when he crushed his weaker opponent with no mercy. Jack got little sleep that night.

Giovanni had picked up the poor kid, his eighteenth birthday only a day away, and shook him. 'How dare you lose? How dare you! Do you know how much money you lost me?' He raged and raged, all the while shaking the kid like he was a doll. Finally Giovanni stopped and a brutal, violent look glistened in the depths of his eyes. He put a hand either side of his defeated fighter's head, and with a vicious flex of his arms snapped the boy's neck.

The loud crack echoed around the empty stadium and Jack stood there, stunned for a second. Then he ran as if the very demons of hell were breathing down his neck and snapping at his heels. After that life felt like a tightrope, getting thinner and higher by the minute, which Jack had to dance his way through, never stopping and looking back. It wasn't a nice feeling.

Jack looked up at Giovanni and spoke in a deadpan tone, 'I'm fine.' Giovanni raised his eyebrows, 'really? Well that's just great. I've come here to tell you that a very special match is coming up for you, and I've drafted in a very special opponent. If you win the four on four battle you will reach your fiftieth kill, and you truly become a legend here. If one of my fighters reach their fiftieth kill, which is very rare I can tell you, I will perform a little ceremony. Not only will you get a nice lump sum of cash and an improved stake in whatever money is made off you, but you will also get the Earth Badge and a rare gift from me.'

At Jack's enquiring look he elaborated slightly, 'the gift is a prototype, a one of a kind. Think of it as extra motivation, which I've seen that you seem to be lacking of late.' He raised his hand as Jack opened his mouth to argue, 'just my opinion. The fight will be tomorrow. I think you're adequately prepared.'

Whenever Jack was escorted to the ring now, he wasn't pushed or shoved by vicious and sadistic grunts. No. He was now escorted like a returning hero, pampered, loved and given gifts and compliments like a shower of confetti. He treated them as such. This fight was huge. Jack only recognised that when he was led past the entrance to the main arena. This fight would be somewhere even better.

The entrance was a slab of solid gold, and that was the least expensive part of the arena. The whole arena was beautifully cut and polished diamond. The battlefield, the walls, the trainer hubs, the stands, the floor, the ceiling – everything was made out of diamond. The effect was disconcerting – think of a whole building made out of solid glass with a slight sapphire tinge – and you'll be the closest you can come to imagining.

But Jack didn't have eyes for the battlefield.

He didn't have eyes for the ridiculous arena that was a scary testament to the power and riches of Team Rocket.

He only had eyes for his opponent. 'Hi Jack.'

_Oh shit. Lelana?!_


	14. Darkest Depths 2

**Author Notes: ****I'm trying to get a few more reviews for my story so from now on everyone who reviews will get mentioned and thanked when I post each new chapter. Before I do this I would like to thank Eli. W for all his enthusiastic reviews up to this point, they have really encouraged me and helped me continue this story.**

* * *

That sight hit Jack harder than any beating he'd ever been on the receiving end of. For a second he felt like he'd just had his lungs ripped out. He couldn't breathe. The look on his face must have been a picture - standing there, gawping like a grounded fish – and a small ripple of laughter rippled around the already half-full stadium. Behind him one of Giovanni's other fighters gave the customary lowdown on his new opponent.

'This one is a real hellcat. Her Pokémon smashed through six grunts before they finally brought her in. She punched one of the Lieutenants right in the face and knocked him out cold, I've never seen anything like it. You could be in for a test here Jack.' Jack just raised his eyebrows, outwardly exuding confidence even though inside he knew that the next battle would not be easy.

A voice boomed out on the loudspeaker system, now familiar to Jack after his multitude of fights, 'we found this fiery lady trying to break into our grass Pokémon research area in Fuchsia. She took down six of our men before being captured, so we will give her and her three Pokémon a big send off. Defeated by the Champion. In a fight to the death. Three recall cards each – you can't say that we aren't kind!'

After her initial surprise at seeing delight Lelana began to look more and more scared. After she heard the words "fight to the death" her whole face went pale, like a blanket of snow suddenly covering a riotously russet autumn. She mouthed that phrase to herself again, and followed it with a string of audible swear words. She hadn't lost her fire, even with the thick shadow of a fight to the death looming over her.

'The Challenger has the honour of releasing her Pokémon first,' said the announcer, his customary glee very noticeable. In this arena you placed your Pokéballs in slots similar to those of a Pokémon centre and selected which ones you wanted to release. Lelana dithered slightly over her three Pokéballs before eventually choosing the middle one.

A hugely muscled grey Pokémon with three crests, a strangely crafted gold belt and red stripes along its biceps and forearms where the muscles seemed to be splitting out of its skin slowly coalesced onto the ground from a crowd of bright white light. Jack did not hesitate for a second. Letting his instincts decide for him he picked Harry's Pokéball. The contrast between the Pokémon could not have been more extreme, with the pink, skinny Harry dwarfed by the muscular Machoke.

Harry was undaunted as usual, and viewed the Pokémon in front of him – the Pokémon who could rip him limb from in with little effort – with his signature mild contempt. The Machoke seemed to view Harry in the same way _this little twerp _he muttered _I'll crush him like a fly. _Harry didn't bother replying. Instead he attacked suddenly with dual beams of disorientating psychic energy.

The Machoke was not only taken surprise by the speed of the attack, but its power too. It had barely braced itself before it staggered backwards from two enormous blows to its torso. Large bruises appeared instantly, the Machoke's skin appearing to ripen until it was the colour of an overripe peach. The blows were followed up by another flurry of attacks which bludgeoned the humanoid Pokémon to the ground.

Harry didn't let up his attack, even when his opponent had been crushed to the floor. His eyes suddenly turned purple, glowing faintly, as he began to attack with the most powerful but exhausting weapon in his armoury. Harry began to bring his palms together, as if he was compressing the air. At this the Machoke began to writhe on the floor, expressing its pain in a vocal boom as it was painfully crushed in a vice of invisible force.

Harry broke of his attack and lifted the Machoke up in the air, sweeping his hand up as he did so. The movements were not necessary but they helped him focus. With another flick of his hands Harry sent the Machoke flying into the wall made of solid diamond. Hard. If it hadn't been for its incredibly bulky physique it would have been knocked out cold, its bones fractured and broken.

Luckily for Lelana and her Pokémon it managed to haul itself to its feet, though it was shaking from side to side as if standing on a gently undulating platform.

Before Harry could finish it off the Machoke began to glow. Jack groaned, smacking the palm of his hand to his forehead. He knew what happens next. The light began to gradually increase in brightness until everyone in the arena had to look away, at risk of damaging their eyes. Suddenly there was a violent flash which gradually began to recede until a brand new, fully-healed Pokémon was standing there.

'Great,' muttered Jack angrily, 'that's just bloody brilliant isn't it.' Not only was the new Pokémon even bulkier than the Machoke with obscenely muscled pectorals, lats, quads and arms, but it also had four arms. Four arms that looked like they could shatter bricks. Easily. Even Harry looked slightly taken back at the Pokémon that now stood nearly two feet taller than him.

One person at least in the stadium was happy at this new change. Lelana was positively beaming at the complete reversal of fortune, hardly able to believe her luck. 'Go on Kai, you know what to do,' she said loudly, leaving Jack cursing all the more. He hated when people did that, it was very hard to read their next move. Though he trusted his Pokémon to do the right thing it most cases he always had a back-up plan in case they ran into trouble. If the other trainer rarely ordered their Pokémon around it made it that bit more difficult for him.

Kai was faster than it used to be, but still quite slow because of its muscle mass. Harry was able to keep himself away from the creature, and was very happy to do so. Any physical contact between them would end up with Harry being completely destroyed.

Though he wasn't too fast, Kai showed that its explosive acceleration was surprisingly great. It closed in the distance between it and Harry with one great bound, releasing a barrage of punches with all four arms. Harry raised a barrier as the first punch was thrown, just saving himself from a battering. The barrier wavered under the first couple of punches until Harry strengthened it, watching in satisfaction at Kai's growing frustration.

With another powerful flex of its huge quads the creature jumped directly over Harry and landed lightly behind him, releasing another barrage of lightning fast punches at his back. Without even looking Harry created a barrier behind him, only turning slowly and insultingly once Kai had punched the barrier a few times. Harry took a deep breath as he prepared to expend a lot of his energy and froze the Machamp in place.

He then began to box the air comically, drawing a couple of startled giggles from the ground. There was nothing comical about the effect, though. The frozen Machamp began to bloom with huge bruises with each punch and when he was finally unfrozen he was caught by one last punch.

The punch knocked the superpower Pokémon, already nearly beaten to submission, out cold in one hit, silencing the giggles from the crowd with its sheer destructive power in battering three hundred pounds of pure muscle to the floor. With a groan Lelana announced that she was playing one of her recall cards and her battered Machamp was returned to its Pokéball. A very familiar Pokémon took its place.

Windie the Arcanine was even larger now, and looked even more magnificent with her cream coloured mane bristling angrily. Harry of course held looks in low regard and he attacked first again, eager to prove himself and finish off another Pokémon. Maybe just eager to fight.

Windie was no push over, and she showed from the beginning that she at least matched the now tired Harry. Using her impressive speed she easily dodged Harry's attack, though they did manage to stop her from closing in for the kill. She growled in frustration as she was forced back by another flurry of attacks, unable to reach Harry and maul him with her dangerous claws.

She finally became tired of the dodging game and attacked with vicious flame that nearly rivalled Dante's in strength, though she did trail him slightly in heat, power and width.

Harry caught the attack one a thick screen of light before quickly somersaulting to the right and driving Windie back again with another flurry of attacks. The Arcanine was beginning to get cagey, and the fight began to stagnate into a stalemate.

As one both trainers requested their recall cards to break the stalemate that seemed to have settled upon the fight. The new match-up still seemed balanced on a knife-edge. Asrael was facing a small, purple cat-like Pokémon with large ears, a circular gemstone set into the centre of its cranium and a silky, two-pronged tail. 'Eifie start this off with hypnosis,' ordered Lelana, much to Jack's chagrin.

He opened his mouth to issue an order to Asrael, but it was already too late. The dragon Pokémon was swaying as the white irises of Eifie's began to glow. Suddenly Asrael dropped to the floor with a dull thud, sound asleep. 'Now Eifie, use dream eater,' called Lelana.

A purple aura surrounded both the Pokémon and suddenly Asrael began to shudder slightly in his sleep as large globules of coalesced energy where dragged from his body towards Eifie. There were no physical changes apparent, though Eifie looked a lot stronger after absorbing the energy. Suddenly Asrael snapped awake and shot up before almost collapsing to the floor with lack of energy. He swayed in the air as his system threatened to shut down because of exhaustion.

'Asrael snap out of it,' shouted Jack desperately, 'use slam to knock out that bitch.' As his energy had begun to return, Jack was able to power through the air with deadly intent towards Eifie. At the last minute Eifie dodged to the side, but it's nearly impossible to avoid an attack when the attacker is over fifteen feet long. Asrael's tail connected with the cat Pokémon and crushed it to the ground. It did not get up easily after that attack.

Blood and dirt matted the Pokémon's previously beautifully soft, velvet-like fur but it still stared towards Asrael with frightening intensity. Asrael jerked on the air as if hit by some powerful force before crumpling to the ground with the force still assailing him. Eifie only let off when it looked very near to collapsing with exhaustion, and Asrael was practically dead from being crushed.

Amazingly the tough, versatile dragon Pokémon managed to levitate off the floor, though it looked half-dead from its ordeal. 'Well done Asrael,' congratulated Jack happily, 'now finish this with thunderbolt.' Taking a deep breath Asrael nodded, electricity crackling around his long body, before he unleashed a storm of electricity towards his opponent.

Eifie dodged to the side bit it could not avoid the bulk of the attack and was shocked badly as thousands of volts of electricity were grounded through its body. Lelana winced and turned away from the burnt body of her unconscious Pokémon, unhappily returning it. She had used up all her recall cards but her Arcanine Windie was still at full health.

Jack also played his recall card, giving the exhausted Asrael a break and releasing Dante so there would be a repeat of his and Lelana's first battle. Though there was a considerable size and weight difference now in Dante's favour Windie did not give one inch of ground to her opponent.

Growling she hurled herself on Dante without an order from her trainer, clearly desperate to revenge her previous defeat. Dante seemed a lot stronger now and hurled her off with a flick of his neck, whirling round and headbutting her hard. She growled on impact, twisting her body so the blow was only glancing, and quickly pulled herself to her feet to attack again.

Though Dante was very fast for such a large Pokémon Windie outmatched him thoroughly, sprinting round so fast that Dante barely managed to keep up even though he was just twisting on the spot.

With a clever feint Windie attacked Dante's unguarded flank, scratching and biting through his tough skin to tear viciously at the soft flesh beneath and pinning Dante to the floor with the force of her jump. They struggled on the floor for few moments, kicking up puffs of white sand into the air and covering themselves with the fine particles in the process.

Finally Dante struggled to his feet, with a whirlwind of teeth and claws still assailing him, and body slammed the ground. There was a loud yelp as Windie realised what Dante was going to do, but she was too slow to get completely out of the way. She screamed loudly as one of her back legs and her thick, creamy-furred tail was slammed beneath Dante's full weight accompanied by a very loud crack.

Use the remaining three of her legs Windie managed to pull herself out from underneath Dante and run out of reach. She was panting heavily, holding her crushed back leg off the ground. Dante seemed in near-perfect health and without any order from Jack he sprinted towards Windie, ready to headbut her and end her participation in the battle. Just as the rampaging Dante was about to hit her, Windie's body began to blur.

Moving incredibly fast she covered twenty metres in less than a second, appearing directly behind Dante. 'Now Windie, use iron tail,' shouted Lelana, trying to knock out Jack's Pokémon before it turned around and finished the job. Windie's tail began to gleam metallically as she ran awkwardly on three legs towards Dante who was still facing the wrong way. 'Dante turn round and use iron head,' shouted Jack but again he had left his order too late.

Dante turned round but was met by an iron-hard tail in the side of his head. Luckily for him he wasn't knocked out by the blow, but he still lay prone on the floor, dazed so much by the attack that he was barely conscious. Windie was shattered from the attack, using much more energy for even simple movements because she could only use three of her legs.

But Lelana didn't let her rest, she needed to press her advantage before Dante shook himself out of his daze, 'Windie, rip him apart.' Windie nodded tiredly, hopping towards the floored Pokémon in front of her. Listlessly she began to scratch and bite at his hard skin, attacking so weakly that her claws barely penetrated.

'Come on Windie, we need to win this,' the desperation was clearly evident in Lelana's voice. Galvanised by the desperation in her trainer's voice, Windie stepped up the attack and globules of blood began to fly as she tore through Dante's skin.

This onslaught awoke Dante from his daze and groaning he shook off Windie and rose unsteadily to his feat. 'Dante use mega punch,' ordered Jack unsmiling. He knew he was going to win, but as always he wasn't happy about it. Dante lurched towards Windie and smashed one of his front legs into her face. It was more like a stomp than a punch, but it was enough to smash Windie's face into a bloody pulp and knock the poor Arcanine out cold.

There was a deep breath around the stadium as they saw a kill coming. Jack hesitated, if only for a second, before opening his mouth to give the damning order.

It was his hesitation the saved Lelana from losing her favourite Pokémon and him from losing a friend, a rival and another part of his soul. In that brief hesitation there was an incredibly loud, resounding smash and the roof of the arena exploded into chunks of rocks and dust.

A huge turquoise tank-like Pokémon smashed through the thick, rocky roof with ease, gargantuan legs tucked under its body. A large steel cross adorned its face and scarlet eyes stared menacingly from in between it. For a second everyone stared in shock at the large steel Pokémon gliding towards Lelana, so incapacitated by sheer surprise that they could not physically react.

It was only when the grey haired man dressed in a black and purple suit and a red tie grabbed the frozen trainer and her Pokéballs of the platform that the Rocket's belatedly burst into action. The new death squad was released, but they had an even smaller effect that when they had tried to stop Paul.

Without even looking the tank Pokémon released an incredibly bright flash of light and heat towards the death squad. The attack stripped the much weaker Pokémon's flesh from their bones so they hung like gross caricatures made out of charred bone before crashing unceremoniously to the ground. Very, very dead.

A number of rockets also released their Pokémon and suddenly there was a flock of Golbats and Crobats in the air. They lasted nearly as long as the death squad. The tank Pokémon and its trainer did not stop, even when the bat Pokémon appeared directly in front of them.

The tank Pokémon's eyes glowed purple as it crushed every single one of the Pokémon in front of it with its mind. All the bats dropped to the floor as bags of crushed and shattered bones when the Pokémon finally let up its attack, and only then did the Rockets realise how powerful a Pokémon trainer they were dealing with.

Instead of heading for the exit the Pokémon suddenly turned sharply in the air and headed towards Jack. Surreptitiously Jack picked up all four of his Pokéballs and tucked the tennis ball sized objects in his cavernous pockets.

Very quickly the Pokémon and its trainer hovered in front of him. The man looked at him with steely gray eyes. '

Come with me or I'll kill you,' he said quietly, giving Jack no choice at all.

Jack nodded and the man hauled Jack onto the back of his Pokémon, so there were now three people perched precariously on its smooth back. Jack held on as tight as he could, but he couldn't disguise his nervousness in his face as he contemplated what a fall from this height would do to his body. Someone in the ground noticed the nervousness and a shout of, 'the Champion is being kidnapped,' echoed around the arena from a number of voices.

It was this that finally spurred Giovanni into action. He didn't like to do it because he wanted to capture the trainers alive, but he seemed to have no choice. None of those trainers could ever go to the authorities. His voice rang out clearly on the loudspeakers.

'Send in the hunters. Squad 13.'


	15. Breakout

**Author Notes: Thanks Eli. W for reviewing.**

* * *

The man immediately went pale at this pronouncement and encouraged his Pokémon onwards. Lelana's eyes were slightly wild and she repetitively and slightly desperately tugged at his clothes roughly, 'what the hell is hunter squad 13?' He paused before answering, 'you don't want to know. Let's hope we get out of range.'

Lelana stopped worrying him, though by her face she obviously wasn't reassured. Jack was handling himself slightly better, although inside he was terrified of falling off his precarious perch. They rose out of the ground and moved very quickly to the cover of clouds, trying to lose their trackers. With his survival instincts in control Jack thoroughly scanned his surroundings for any sign of their vicious attackers. Because of his vigilance he was the first to see what they are facing.

'What the fuck is that?' Jack almost screamed as he saw a killing machine bank through the air beside them. 'Squad 13,' said the man quietly, 'is the newest and most deadly squad of all the Rocket assassination crews. It was formed after a break-in to Pewter Museum and a Cinnabar scientist was kidnapped to form a squad that has killed over seventy victims in forty successful missions. This squad has never failed to kill a victim and you can see why!'

Squad 13 consisted of a dozen ferocious flying Pokémon. Their body was made out of stone, their jaws full of huge, serrated fangs and their wings large with a thick, leathery membrane. A long tail with an arrow-tip at the end was used to steer the hulking prehistoric nightmare through the air with consummate ease.

Soon all twelve of the creatures were closing in on the fugitive trainers, their large mouths salivating and their trainers, tucked low against their bodies for greater aerodynamics, smiling as they closed in on their victims. The man stayed calm even amidst what seemed like certain death and he released one of his other Pokémon to help him in combat.

It was as strange and intimidating as his other Pokémon, a tall bird encased in gleaming steel with knife-like red feathers making up lethal wings. The Pokémon immediately banked off to the side like a jet fighter, smashing into one of the prehistoric Pokémon at full speed.

The dangerous tackle smashed straight through one of the Pokémon's wing membrane, disabling it with one astutely tactical decision. The creature immediately began to slew uncontrollably through the air and suddenly began to somersault downwards towards a messy end.

The metal bird wasn't letting up. It began to fight two more of the creatures at once, its steel hide deflecting any blows that the creatures managed to land. The bird seemed made for air to air combat and it managed to drive back the two brutes with its incredible endurance, speed, agility and surprising power. However it could not fight all eleven of the remaining creatures. It could only distract two, leaving the trainers hounded by nearly a full squadron of killers.

'You two have any flying Pokémon?' asked the trainer hopefully, his lips pursed in an angry frown. Both Lelana and Jack replied negative. He pursed his lips even more, his face screwing up in concentration. That was when the creatures decided to engage. With an unspoken signal they all suddenly twisted their wing position and homed in towards their prey from all sides.

The attack was initially repulsed by a desperate psychic shockwave released by the tank-like Pokémon, but that was a mere short-term deterrent and their attack was only really stopped for a couple of seconds. Very soon they were edging uncomfortably close again.

The trainer tossed his head from side to side like a caged lion, taking in his other Pokémon fighting for its life and the flesh hungry beasts closing in from him. Finally he sighed sadly. 'You made me do this. I was going to let you live but you pushed me too far.' He reached for another Pokéball, this one identical to Jack's "master ball," and released a Pokémon.

It was rather an anticlimax. The Pokémon was only one foot tall. Its head was in the shape of yellow star with teal coloured tags swinging likely in the wind. It blinked at the two strange trainers unhappily hugging the round metal body below them and the strange, dangerous situation that it had been so rudely thrown into.

As the creatures closed in around it the Pokémon's face took on an indignant look. A third eye on its stomach suddenly opened, a vivid green iris rimmed by tiny yellow scales, and suddenly everything changed. The green iris turned completely purple and every single one of the powerful creatures was crushed by one thought from the small, doleful Pokémon.

Their rock hard bodies were compressed, their bones snapped into tiny pieces until they were but small crumpled balls of rock. Then they fell, their riders screaming as only empty air hung for thousands of metres between them where there had previously been solidity.

Jack was stunned at seeing such a small, somehow pathetic, looking Pokémon exhibit such tremendous, unbelievable power. He was further surprised as the Pokémon stepped confidently off the fasting moving steel platform beneath it into the empty air and looked down at the falling hunters.

It seemed to have no concept of the fact that it should be falling like a stone through the air, instead it floated happily, moving sideways alongside its trainer at tremendous speed, and gestured at the screaming hunters below. They froze barely metres from the ground and with childlike interest it pointed a figure at them.

One of the hunters was crushed into the ground. The Pokémon frowned, tilting its head to the right, it poked at the hunters again and one more was killed by the probing Pokémon.

The suited trainer sighed and recalled his Pokémon, 'so much power,' he muttered, 'but so naїve and childlike that one. She's given me no end of trouble.' They returned to the thick, soggy clouds and flew on in oppressive silence, no-one knowing quite what to say to break the peace. After a while the trainer finally spoke, 'I know you're wandering who I am and why I rescued you from that place so I'm going to answer your questions.'

He held up his hands to stem speech from both Lelana and Jack, 'my name is Steven Stone. I am the official Champion of the Hoenn region and have been for over ten years.'

Steven paused to let that knowledge sink in and to see the two trainers eyes light up with awe and respect, 'I have rescued you from the Underground for a very specific reason. Since I have an extremely good relationship with the Kanto region for reasons which I will not delve into they have contracted me to carry out a mission. You will help me.'

It was not a question. It was a statement. 'What if we don't want to,' asked Jack boldly, even though he had a sinking feeling that he knew what the answer would be. 'Tough,' said Steven shortly, his body language suddenly closing up and exuding controlled violence.

'You will help me. You have no choice. Just remember that it will be rewarding for you. By accepting, you will be cleared of any criminal charges that we could otherwise fix on you. If you help me succeed this mission you will be each given all the remaining badges that you need and you will also be entered in the Kanto regional championships.'

Jack began nodding, 'I accept, though I'm not happy at not having much choice about it.' Lelana echoed his sentiment, 'ditto,' she said, her voice shaking with a mixture of anger, fear and disbelief.

Steven smiled suddenly, revealing a shock of straight, white teeth, 'just as I expected. We will be-' suddenly his Pokémon rocked and began to nosedive towards the ground. It began to let out a low screech of pain and Jack caught a glimpse of a large Pidgeot below them. Steven swore, 'I thought we'd lost those bastards,' he said, guiding his Pokémon into a smooth downwards glide. 'At least it's a lesser hunter squadron.'

Jack did a double take, 'it's not like you had much trouble with the last troop. Your Pokémon destroyed them.' Steven ignored him studiously, bracing himself for the landing. They landed with a violent jolt that threw both Jack and Lelana headlong off their perch. The two young trainers hit the ground hard and slowly picked themselves up. 'Get ready to fight people,' said Steven, returning his large Pokémon for the first time, 'we're going to be absolutely swamped.'

Before both Jack and Lelana could indicate that their Pokémon weren't at full strength they were indeed swamped. It looked like the whole of Team Rocket had been sent after them and over fifty Pokémon of five different types filed up in a wide semi-circle around them. There was a squad of flitting, blood-sucking Crobat, a squad of magnificent Pidgeot, a squad of flared, intimidating Arbok, a squad of thickly muscled, irate Primeape and squad of compact but faintly terrifying Marowak.

Steven released every single one of his Pokémon so a powerful looking arrangement of steely Pokémon with the tiny, childlike Pokémon positioned directly in the middle and looking distinctly uninterested and unafraid by the perilous situation that it had once again been released into. 'Why aren't you releasing your Pokémon?' asked Steven, 'I know my Pokémon are strong but we're so totally outnumbered that we will be overwhelmed if you don't help.'

Lelana held up her hands in apology, 'all mine were fainted in our little battle.' Steven sighed, 'fucking great,' he muttered, 'and you.' His voice was a little savage. 'I only have one Pokémon left,' replied Jack, releasing Kabi instantly. Steven looked the huge Pokémon up and down and nodded appreciatively. 'Great, we'll shelter behind her whilst my Pokémon attack. Does she know any ranged attacks?'

Jack nodded silently before curiously asking, 'how did you know Kabi was a she?' Steven tapped his nose enigmatically with a bony index finger, 'you don't live as a trainer for over thirty years without picking up some specialist knowledge.' Jack was stopped for asking any more questions by a strange declaration from the Rocket masses.

'Our glorious leader Giovanni has ordered that we must kill you therefore we must carry out his orders for he is full of wisdom.' Jack frowned but Steven cut him off before he even spoke, 'don't even ask. Their loyalty is so screwed up that it is laughable. This announcement is common.'

With a flurry of barked commands the Rockets attacked as one. The three outnumbered trainers hid behind the bulk of the large Snorlax and watched as Steven's six Pokémon were tested to their very limit. The battle descended into chaos with a fine mist of blood that seemed to cover Jack's vision.

He only saw the battle in stops and starts, such was its incredible intensity, as he zoned out for whole minutes at a time as his survival instincts caused him to act without any conscious thought.

In the battle Steven's Pokémon showed why they were the Pokémon of a Champion. Throughout Steven seemed to have a telepathic connection with his pride and joy, muttering under his breath commands that were picked up and understood even though the Pokémon were well out of earshot.

The hunters were much more of a nuisance than the regular grunts. They were skilled trainers in their own right with highly trained Pokémon who never shied away from the battle. However, they were no match for a regional Champion. They barely got within range of Kabi's powerful limbs such was the power of those six steel Pokémon.

The doleful one, which Steven never referred to by name or type, kept a small circle around it which all of the hunter's Pokémon feared to enter. Anything which entered the circle was crushed to death. For most of the battle it seemed completely uninterested and was only angered at one point.

A Pidgeot dropped on in from above and pinned it to the ground. The third eye on its stomach opened and fixed the Pidgeot with a startling green iris. The Pidgeot was smashed by controlled psychic energy with such force that its body was transmuted into a fine dust. After that it was mostly left to its own devices as it did not attack without being provoked.

A huge armoured Pokémon with a helmeted head complete with two enormous, razor sharp horns seemed to have most impact physically in the battle. The "Aggron" – as called by Steven – was enormously strong and almost completely unaffected by all physical attacks landed upon him. The whole squad of Primeape took it upon themselves to batter it into submission, attacking in a tangle of powerful punches and kicks.

Each wave was shrugged off by the seven foot creature, its incredibly thick armoured hide protecting it from the force of the blows, and repulsed with a swinging tail, thrusting horns and deadly steel claws.

When it seemed like it was going to be overwhelmed as the hunters managed to bring their Pokémon under control and actually assemble some type of plan it was saved by an unlikely helper. This jackal-like creature "Lucario" was only four foot tall but it cruised through the Primeape coolly, easily besting them in hand-to-hand combat and doling out death blows which snapped bones left and right.

Fighting back to back the two creatures overwhelmed the Primeape and soon none of the irate monkeys were left standing. This enabled the Pokémon to turn and help Steven's other three Pokémon – the doleful one didn't really need helping – who were being hard pressed by the Pidgeot, Arbok and Marowak.

The hunter's Pokémon worked as a seamless team; the Pidgeot unleashing a hail of physical attacks which harried Steven's Pokémon from the air, the Arbok were incredibly dangerous using their thick, muscled bodies to smash and constrict and using their poison fangs to inflict poisonous wounds which severely weakened any Pokémon with the misfortune to be inflicted with them and the Marowak were a force to be reckoned with in hand-to-hand combat using their bone clubs to inflict crushing blows and absorbing any punches to the head with immunity thanks to their bony skulls.

Even with the combined force of the metal feathered "Skarmory," the nearly transparent "Metagross" and the seemingly out of place steel winged and crowned penguin "Empoleon" the sheer mass of their opponents were threatening to inflict injuries on the creatures.

The Metagross' bursts of psychic energy were becoming much less frequent and powerful and a number of scratches and cuts were inflicted on its smooth hide. The Skarmory was forced to the ground where it seemed uncomfortable. It was still deadly, attacking with razor sharp wings and deft but fatal jabs with its knife-like beak, but it was not used to hand-to-hand combat and left itself open to a number of painful blows which pitted and dented its previously smooth and shiny steel-plated skin.

The Empoleon was surprisingly powerful in battle for what looked like a giant overgrown penguin. It blocked any blow with its thick, metallic armour before replying with the razor sharp edge in large cleaving blows which bludgeoned and stunned any Pokémon that were stupid enough to come within reach.

Every so often a powerful blast of pressurized water issuing from its golden beak would save him from any potentially deadly situation. A well aimed blow from its metal trident would deftly gut an attacker and a sideways flick would potentially knock an attacker out cold. However it had taken a number of body blows and was bleeding from a number of superficial cuts. It wouldn't be long before the wounds became deeper and deeper.

The Skarmory fell first and was immediately set upon by the whole pack of Arbok. They repeatedly struck with lightning fast bites and so the metal surface was torn through by the ravening fangs. Steven recalled his Pokémon and for the first time Kabi was brought into direct combat.

She lumbered to her feet and lashed out clumsily with large fists. Though the attacks were quite slow they were devastatingly powerful and soon the "Lucario" and the "Aggron" had joined the fray and cut them off completely from their trainers and the other Pokémon.

With nowhere to run to the Arbok were knocked out by a number of slow but well-aimed punches of great power which inflicted terrible damage on a Pokémon unlucky enough to stray within reach. It was not too long before Kabi was exhibiting her berserker tendencies and all of the Arbok had been smashed to a bony pulp and recalled by their now less confident trainers.

The battle continued long into the day. As the battle wore on Steven's Pokémon had more and more of a disadvantage as they tired much faster than their more numerous opponents. By the end of the battle each of the Pokémon were bleeding from numerous wounds and could barely fight anymore. They looked like the walking wounded and emerged somehow having beaten every single one of their opponents.

It was after hours and hours that the hunters retreated. Even in retreat they managed to be both intimidating and self effacing in their profuse apologising to their "wonderful master" Giovanni. It was creepy but Jack was just glad that they had finally left.

Steven looked exhausted and turned around, 'thanks for the wonderful help!' he said sarcastically, 'I'm so glad I picked you for this job.' At the outraged look on his two young companion's faces he caught himself and apologised, 'sorry about that. I'm just absolutely exhausted from that battle. Third hardest thing I have ever had to do.'

Lelana spoke up for the first time in a long time and she had finally regained some of her characteristic fire, 'so, why did you kidnap as then, _Champion_?' she demanded sarcastically, 'to give us a demonstration of your battling prowess?' Jack chuckled at the venomous words and at the Champion's surprised and chastened look.

'No actually. As I've said you're going to be helping me on a special mission. It will be the hardest thing we've all ever had to do. That ordeal will look like a picnic. The Elite Four will look like a picnic. Victory Road will look like a picnic.' The two young trainers waited for him to elaborate but there were no further words coming. It was Jack who actually asked the question. 'What are we doing then?'

It was a while before Steven spoke again and his voice was completely deadpan when he described the task before him. 'We're finding and executing Mewtwo, the most powerful Pokémon in the world.'

* * *

**Author Notes: I have changed Steven's team so all of his pokemon are steel types to keep with his steel type pokemon mantra. I have not named the "small, doleful pokemon" but I'm sure you can guess what it is. Those who cannot, think legendary. Please R & R people.**


	16. Duel With Death

Jack stared from the tall humanoid Pokémon in front of him to the defeated body of his last Pokémon in disbelief. With a sense of his impending doom he recalled his last Pokémon and sprinted away from the vision of death through the labyrinth cave.

Or he tried to.

As he turned to run all his muscles froze instantly. He was stuck in position like a statue, unable to coax his muscles into movement. Mewtwo began to float towards him, its long purple tail thrashing the air behind it, with a look of terrible anger on its face. Its three fingered hand was held out directly in front of it.

Slowly it began to close its hand and a huge invisible force began to crush Jack. He yelled in panic and his mind unconsciously searched back to how he'd arrive in this position....

'_It's in Cerulean Cave, I'm sure of it,' shouted Jack, clenching his fists at the sheer stupidity of the Hoenn Champion. 'You've already told me you don't know where it is and all the signs point to Cerulean!' Steven shook his head, rejecting Jack's plea again. 'It doesn't make any sense. It won't live near a city. It's in Victory Road, I know it!' _

_Jack laughed bitterly and threw up his hands in disbelief. 'You're dumb. It won't hide right on the League's doorstep. Everyone except a League member is refused access to the cave and they don't check it very often at all. Couple that with the fact that all the Pokémon have disappeared!....It's obvious that it's hiding in the damn cave!'_

'_Humph,' grunted Steven, unwilling to give in to his younger opponent. 'I still think....' he was cut off by a loud crack which accompanied Lelana's powerful slap to his face. Steven's head was snapped round and the skin around the impact point began to redden. When he looked back at Lelana there was already a large red handprint forming on his cheek. _

_'Just listen to Jack you obnoxious buffoon,' exclaimed Lelana, 'it's obvious that he knows where this Pokémon is. Stop being so big-headed and admit when you're wrong!' Steven felt his cheek uncertainly, completely wrong-footed and shocked by the slap. 'Fine,' he said heavily, 'we'll have it your way.' _

_Jack patted him on the back, suddenly friendly. 'Don't worry about the slap. She's done that to everyone she's ever met. It comes with the territory.' He laughed and dodged Lelana's retaliatory slap as they began to make their way to Cerulean._

_Cerulean Cave was dark and forbidding in the extreme. Its entrance was merely a jagged, pitch-black hole cut into the rock face. Though light streamed through the entrance into the network beyond nothing could be seen in the near total darkness. The cave seemed to absorb light so there was nothing but black remaining. _

_Now their Pokémon were fully healed in the Pokémon centre you would expect the entrepreneuring young trainers and the Hoenn Champion to stride confidently into the blackness. In truth they all hung back, not only because of the forbidding looks but by a menacing presence that seemed to repel them from the cave completely. _

_Taking a deep breath Jack banished the mostly unfounded terror that was been pressed upon him and strode into the cave. At the entrance he turned back to Lelana and Steven who still held back. 'Are you coming or what?'_

_Steven's Metagross cast light on the situation by releasing a bright flash of light which lit up the rocky labyrinth and burnt on steadily for long after it was produced. The trainers now proceeded in an eerie half-light which created strange, twisted and tortured shadows across the walls and ground. _

_For a cave that should be full of the most powerful and dangerous wild Pokémon ever found – because it was essentially a prison for all the powerful and troublesome Pokémon in the world - it was surprisingly empty. During their unfruitful navigations of the cage not once did they encounter any wild Pokémon. _

_This was strange as any trainer crazy enough to venture in was normally swamped by the challenges of insanely powerful wild Pokémon who wanted to take out their anger about their confinement on something living, breathing, breakable and hopefully human._

_They smelt it long before they saw it. It was the dirty, choking smell of rotting carcasses. It filled the air around them as they walked towards the source of the perceived carnage. What they found was worse than what they ever could have imagined. _

_Every single Pokémon in the cave had been slaughtered and piled up in a huge mountain of bodies and left to rot. Some of the remains were burnt and charred. Others were broken like twigs and thrown away like small dolls discarded by a clumsy child. Others were completely whole except for the crazed twisted fear engraved on their faces. It was a vision from hell. It _was _hell for the trainers who found it. _

_What made it worse was the Pokémon who had been killed. They were all hugely powerful. They found the burnt body of a Dragonite, the broken remains of a mighty Slaking, the charred bones of an insanely muscled Machamp. They even found the twisted body of a Gyarados discarded contemptuously onto the remains of a Tyranitar. Whatever had slaughtered these Pokémon did not lack power. That was abundantly clear._

_The trainers separated as they walked around the piles of dead Pokémon in different stages of shock. This is what would be Jack's downfall. When he was the other side of the corpse filled cavern Jack heard the sound of a child sobbing. It was coming through a small hole in the rocky wall. All he had to do was crawl through and comfort the child. _

_Jack lost all his sense and he squeezed himself through the hole. He did not call to Steven or Lelana. He did not even stop to think. The overwhelming need to save this child filled his mind. He emerged to find what he was looking for. A small child, dirty and injured, was sitting against the wall of the second, smaller, cavern sobbing heavily. Its frail body heaved as it expressed its sadness by spewing salty tears from its tear ducts. _

_It was only now that Jack began to have second thoughts about what he had done and he turned round to call to his companions. Again the overwhelming need to help the child engulfed him, but this time it was much more forceful. It was as if the thoughts were being _pressed _into him._

_He quickly ran to the child and reached out to comfort it. His hands went straight through the child as it disintegrated into tiny dust motes of flashing light. A commanding voice echoed around the cavern. Or was it in his head? It was so overwhelming that he couldn't tell. _So I've found myself a strong willed fellow have I _hissed the voice sibilantly _well I'll just have to break him, won't I? _The voice was more than a little mad. _

_Slowly Jack turned round to see what he was facing. It was not the abomination he was expecting. The Pokémon was actually beautiful, in its own strange way. It was immediately obvious to Jack from its glowing eyes and the purple aura that surround it that it was a psychic Pokémon, however its body was made out of lean, powerful muscle. Its purple tail was thick and dangerous looking and from its powerful legs it looked like it could dish out tremendous kicks._

_The battle that followed was almost a dream for Jack. Harry was almost immediately overwhelmed by the sheer power of his opponent. He was soundly beaten in the psychic match up and his barriers were torn apart as if they were paper. His body lay broken on the damp, uneven floor within a minute. _

_Asrael barely lasted longer. __He could not even get near to the Pokémon before he was caught with psychic energy. He was crushed to death within two minutes, without even getting in an attack. _

_Kabi lasted for a bit longer. Her sheer bulk and physique enabled her to resist the psychic attacks better than her two compatriots and she managed to zap her opponent with a web of thunder. It was with some consternation that Jack saw the Pokémon shake off the attack as if it was displacing an annoying fly and break Kabi's back with one thrust of energy._

_Within five minutes Jack was down to his last Pokémon and Mewtwo hadn't even broken a sweat. It wasn't even tested. Jack did not want to release Dante to get slaughtered but the look the creature's smouldering eyes spurred him on. Dante was part steel type and therefore tougher and more resistant to all types of attacks. _

_He attacked to try and overwhelm the Pokémon who had defeated all his comrades and thundered towards Mewtwo like a derailed freight train. Mewtwo concentrated hard and began to levitate as it brought the full power of its mind to stop the Pokémon thundering towards it. Dante began to slow as if he was running through treacle and suddenly he stopped in midair and hung their suspended. Finally Mewtwo seemed to be using most of its power and struggled to hold Dante in place._

_With a thud Mewtwo released its hold and Dante clattered heavily to the ground. Before he could even move he was knocked onto his side by an incredibly powerful psychic attack. Dante returned to his feet looking very dazed and tottered around before releasing an inferno in Mewtwo's general direction. The legendary psychic Pokémon looked unfazed and wrapped a cocoon of psychic energy around itself to protect it from the raging blaze. _

_When the blaze abated Mewtwo was completely unharmed and attacked Dante with an almost contemptuous flap of its hand. Dante was smashed again with incredible force and left a great furrow in the ground behind him as he was thrown backwards. Dante seemed even less sure on his feet that before and he swayed from side to side like a drunkard._

_Though it seemed a mercy to put the now scatterbrained Dante out of his misery the blood-hungry Mewtwo executed it brutally. With a scary show of power Mewtwo repeatedly pounded the shaking Dante with its mind until Dante was little more than a bloody wreck, though he was still conscious. The final attack played out in slow motion in Jack's mind as crackling energy was conjured into being in front of Mewtwo's outstretched fingers. _

_For a second Jack watched as Dante stared into the face of the attack which would surely defeat him. The attack was released and Dante struggled to heave his body out of the way. He was too dazed to avoid the attack at all and he caught the powerful broadside on his flank. That spelt the end for Dante. He hit the ground hard and did not get back up._

Something strange started Jack out of his revelry. Why wasn't he dead? That was the first question that echoed through his mind. Mewtwo had started to crush the life out of him but for some reason it had stopped. Suddenly Mewtwo released its hold on Jack completely and he thudded to the ground, cutting and bruising his skin on the rough stone.

He looked around and saw that Steven and Lelana had finally found him and come to his rescue. They were bending the rules slightly to give themselves more of a shot of winning. Well, bending was not the right word. More like shattering into thousands and thousands of pieces. They were using all of their Pokémon to just keep the enraged Mewtwo at bay, which wasn't allowed under the Pokémon League's rules unless you are in Victory Road.

Mewtwo's power did not diminish under fire from all directions. In fact it seemed to become even more powerful when the odds were less in its favour. In one attacked it knocked out Lelana's Machamp and her Espeon, the latter's psychic attacks overwhelmed and dissipated as easily as Harry's.

Windie attacked whilst her comrades were being beaten and crashed into Mewtwo with a powerful takedown. She floored the legendary psychic Pokémon and began to claw and scratch viciously as she degenerated into an unthinking beast that lived only to rip its prey to shreds. Except this prey could fight back.

Focussing its mind Mewtwo crushed Windie and tossed her aside, unconscious, like bad rubbish. The manoeuvre was reminiscent of a car being crushed at a wrecking yard. Windie's body was a nearly unrecognisable crumpled mess as a result. Lelana had been dispatched in even less time that it took for Mewtwo to beat Jack and she reeled back to join her beaten rival.

Steven was not so easily beaten. His Pokémon were exceptionally powerful and hardy and could take more than one attack from the psychic creature. As one Steven's Aggron and Lucario attacked, working as a team like they always did. The Aggron charged, head down as it tried to skewer Mewtwo. It was stopped in its track and then tossed against the wall of the cavern with tremendous force.

As the whole cavern began to shake and a hail of small rocks began to descend from the ceiling the Lucario attacked. It smashed its fist into Mewtwo's face and threw the creature over its head in a judo manoeuvre. Showing great agility Mewtwo somehow managed to land on its feet and smashed the Lucario with a thick tail.

Lucario was winded and as it bent forward reflexively it was smashed in the face by a powerful foot. It reeled backwards and was attacked again, this time with a thrust of energy. It was sent spinning to the side and lay dazed on the wall.

Steven's Empoleon, Skarmory and Metagross attacked as a team – for that seemed to be the only way Mewtwo could be defeated – as his small Pokémon, one which Jack did not know the name of, childishly explored the cavern around. Not even bothered by the rampaging legendary only ten metres away.

The Metagross made the mistake of trying to engage Mewtwo in psychic combat. If it had not it would never have been disabled so easily. It let Mewtwo get a foothold in its mind and the creature destroyed it from within. Even as the Empoleon and Skarmory closed in Mewtwo was straining to break Metagross. Finally it succeeded and the huge Pokémon dropped to the floor. There seemed to be no life left in its body. It was as if the life had been ripped out of it.

Steven seemed shaken to have one of his Pokémon defeated so easily and he went into overdrive in ordering his Pokémon tactically. This was his mistake. Mewtwo read his mind like an open book and predicted every single move he could think up. The psychic Pokémon always seemed three steps ahead of Steven and his Pokémon and soon his Empoleon and Skarmory were also defeated.

The dazed Lucario and Aggron also had not taken long finishing off in their confused state. Steven only had one Pokémon left now. The small one. The weird one. The enigmatic one.

Mewtwo attacked it when it wasn't even looking and was repulsed. The small Pokémon's face twisted in childlike anger and it attacked with incredible power. Mewtwo reeled back under the surprising assault until he could reassemble his defences.

The two Pokémon fought in a psychic duel of gargantuan proportion. They seemed to be evenly matched, though the small Pokémon should have been able to win if it seized on the surprise factor. But it did not think. Its mind seemed to be like that of a child and it fought as such. It attacked viciously and with all its power and when hit it reacted petulantly. There was no way it could win like that but it still managed to match Mewtwo blow for blow.

The duel seemed to be more dangerous for the spectators than for the participants. Stray psychic energy smashed into the cavern around and soon they seemed to be in danger of being crushed by a cave in. Jack realised this first and tried to convey the fact to Steven over the incredibly loud bangs of psychic energy colliding.

'We need to get out of here,' he screamed, pointing to the roof which now seemed to be rippling. Steven swore loudly and ran to the exit, picking up Jack and Lelana by their shirts and hauling them with him.

They ran through the labyrinth cursing but somehow the battle never seemed far away. Turning around a corner they saw that somehow the two creatures battling were directly in front of him. 'Duck,' screamed Steven suddenly, dropping to the ground and dragging the two other trainers with him as a stray bolt of psychic energy decimated the rock face directly above them.

Both of the Pokémon suddenly disappeared and reappeared further along the tunnels. They seemed unaware that they were teleporting around. For them it seemed to be as natural as thinking and walking. For the next ten minutes the trainers played a dodging game with the lethal falling rocks that seemed to be intent on impaling them onto the ground. Then disaster struck and it struck hard.

They found the exit blocked by the two Pokémon fighting. The fighting had peaked in intensity and power. Both Pokémon were going for broke to kill the other. It was impossible to see who was winning as the attacks and counterstrikes occurred faster than thought.

To the watchers it was as if they were watching a mono-coloured but extremely intricate fireworks display. Then there was a loud explosion as two particularly powerful psychic attacks connected. Numerous bolts arced out from the collision and smashed into the rocks surrounding the exit. The rocks seemed to begin to fall in slow motion for Jack as, for the second time in less than two hours, his death flashed before him.

He was running before he shouted the warning, 'The exit is going to collapse!' Steven was slightly slower than him and Lelana was the slowest.

Jack barely made the entrance and Steven only managed to escape with huge groves cut into his flesh by the jagged falling rocks. Lelana was not so lucky. The entrance was blocked before she could make her way out. The last thing that Jack saw of her was a look of absolute terror marring her pretty face. Then the boulders fell and Jack could see nothing.

Nothing at all.


	17. Surprise Entry

**Author Notes: I've noticed that the trickles of reviews has ground to a halt. Dont' be afraid to review people. Nothing makes an author feel better than having a positive review (hint hint) but also it is just as important, if not more so, that I get feedback on my writing whether good or bad.**

* * *

Everything seemed to degenerate for Jack after that one terrible moment. His memory of that time was slightly patchy. The shock and anger had unhinged him and his brain began to see strobe lighting.

One moment everything was black then the next an image was superimposed brightly onto his retinas.

He remembered yelling and throwing himself at the pile of huge rocks that blocked the exit.

He remembered Steven hauling him back and throwing him onto the ground.

The Hoenn Champion screamed one word into the air. 'Jirachi!' It came to him, coalescing into being in front of the two trainers in a flash of purpling purple light. The Pokémon which Jack suddenly recognised from legends all over. The Wish Maker – the all powerful Wish Maker. And it was shaking with pain and fatigue from fighting with Mewtwo.

Then everything went dark again as the strobe lighting flickered across Jack's vision.

The next few hours passed by extremely quickly for Jack – or was it extremely slowly? Jack could not tell through the strange haze that seemed to fog his mind. All he would ever be able to recall from that time was his huge argument with Steven and the Hoenn Champion's final parting words.

'Forget her. Forget everything that's happened here. She's dead. We can only hope that it's dead too.' There was no doubt what the "it" was referring to. 'Move on. Get your badges. Challenge the League. Make your fortune. Just, whatever you do, forget this ever happened.' The two trainers did not separate on the best of terms.

Jack would hear the parting message ringing in his head for days and months to come. Steven would likewise take the accusations levelled at him – coward and pretender to name but a few – to heart and almost go out of his way to prove he was none of those things. Whether to himself or to others he didn't know but he still worked harder and harder than he had ever done before.

* * *

Jack tried to slip back into normal life – or as normal life as a Pokémon trainer can be – after his forced sabbatical but he found it difficult. After his stint in the underground he felt that he could no longer relate to most other people. He met people, other trainers or just general travellers along the way, and completely rebuffed their friendly advances and made a name for himself as a bit of a loner.

He could not help it. They all seemed shallow to him, stupid and naїve and full of self-interest. Even the girls who tried to win the favour of the tall mysterious trainer with smouldering eyes were given the cold shoulder. Whenever Jack saw a pretty face or a short skirt he was reminded of a girl that he had lost.

A girl that he had not known for long enough but a girl that had ingrained herself so deep into his skull that he knew that he would never get her out of his head. Even when he was talking to those girls – and there were a surprising amount of them - a different face tried to superimpose itself on top of theirs. Every single one of them reminded him of her.

Jack was surprised to find that he had been out of action for four months. Four months! Not only had he missed the Silver Conference qualifiers but he had almost missed the Silver Conference itself. Jack began to hate Team Rocket even more. They had made him miss something that he had watched and wanted to compete in since he was a small boy.

Heading to Celadon City, the home of the sky piercing department store and the famous Twilight District of casinos, Jack found that his luck began to take a turn for the better. As it turned out, the group stages for the Silver Conference were being held in the city centre and the brand new stadium had caused quite a stir.

Before he would challenge Erika – a prospect that he thought would be easy with the fiery Dante – Jack wanted to give this stadium a reconnaissance and explore the city.

The Stadium was built right at the centre of the city in the vicinity of the Pokémon centre. It wasn't particularly large for a stadium but the gleaming steel and glass construction of its exoskeleton gave it stature above its size. It somehow looked much more impressive. Pack in ten thousand people and forty Pokémon trainers and you have yourself quite a spectacle.

Jack was staring at the arena when he bumped into something round and soft. A familiar girlish voice followed the collision. 'Ooh Matt. Fancy seeing you here. I wondered why you weren't in qualifying because we could use a trainer of your skill to make this a bit more of a spectacle.'

The small fat man named Scott in the Hawaiian shirt draped a pudgy arm round the slightly bewildered Jack's shoulders and shepherded him through the smooth aluminium turnstiles, along bright sterilised corridors to what looked like a clerk's office decorated in old-fashioned decor which was at odds with the gleaming tangle of metal around it.

'Eric my dear friend,' squeaked Scott jovially, 'I have found our fortieth competitor.' The small mousy clerk looked less than happy to see Scott. When he replied his voice was deadpan, 'Hello Scott, what a ... pleasant surprise,' he muttered quietly. 'May I ask where you found this trainer?' He looked measuringly at Jack as if he was sizing up a race horse. Scott nodded enthusiastically. He was always enthusiastic.

'This trainer is a good friend of mine and a very talented trainer. I saw him a while back and put him on my list. I expected him to turn up for qualifying but for some reason he did not....' Scott shot Jack surprisingly piercing glare, which told Jack that there may be hidden depths behind the bumbling exterior, before continuing, 'for some reason he did not arrive. Since we have a free space I think we should enter him.'

Eric stared at Jack for a full minute before entering details into his computer. 'I'll need him here from a bit longer Scott. You can go now.' Scott seemed slightly bemused at being dismissed but he left anyway, his hugely round belly jiggling as he moved. Jack stood in silence as the Clerk's long bony fingers danced across the keyboard in front of him. He spoke quite abruptly and bluntly, 'good friend? Really?'

Jack smiled ruefully, 'this is the second time I've ever met him. You? Are you really his dear friend?' Eric also looked quite rueful when he answered the question. 'I first met Mr. Enthusiastic one week ago. I graduated to dear friend yesterday.' Jack laughed and realised that he actually like this clerk. They chatted for the next hour or so as Eric asked a plethora of questions and entered them into his computer.

After he had taken what seemed like Jack's life story he finally announced that he had finished. 'The group has been split into eight groups of five competitors. Two trainers from each of the groups go through into the last sixteen where you play knockout three vs. three matches. The winners of each mach progress until there are only two left. Both of those two qualify for the Gold Conference at the end of the year. There are five of these group stages held in each region for single battles, five for double battles, five for tag teams etc. You are in group three.'

As Jack walked out with his instructions Eric called after him. 'Good luck mate.' Jack nodded back at the clerk smiling to himself. The effects of the Underground were starting to wear off at last.

The tournament drew quite a crowd. Not only were there ten thousand spectators packed into the stadium, but hundreds of camera crews from a multitude of different TV companies were there filming and many more spectators with no tickets lined the city centre to watch on the big screen from on top of Heinmin Hill – named after the most loved and successful gym leader in the town's history.

There were also a lot of big names competing, not least the town's gym leader. Erika herself was making an appearance and she was using her actual team of Pokémon, not the team she'd bred for gym challenges. The bald scientist/gym leader Blaine had also arrived to give Erika a bit of a fiery headache to contend with as well as other trainers who had quite a large fan following, though with his seclusion in Pallet Town Jack had not even heard of most of them.

Jack managed to drop below the radar and stay out of the public's eye. No-one seemed to have caught onto the fact that Jack had not even come through qualifying and that was partly down to the efforts of Scott and Eric to keep Jack's last minute entry hushed up.

The the week long training session before the Conference started was open to spectators _and _televised, though it was the most famous trainers that were filmed rather than the dark horses of the tournament.

Jack's training stadium was the smallest and pokiest – it had an ageing gym for him as well as a small arena for his Pokémon to fight against each other in, large bags which they could practice their physical attacks against as well as targets which they could practice their ranged attacks on – and there were no spectators or TV crews. Because of this Jack was able to practice for most of the week in peace. Most of it.

It was on his last day that Jack's quiet practice arena exploded into a circus. The journalists and TV crews had exhausted all of their stories on the famous trainers – Jack would know, it was on TV twenty four hours a day, seven days a week – so they came hunting down the lower practice arenas for smaller game. They didn't think they would get a good story – maybe just an interview or a small special. And they didn't at first.

Most of the trainers down there had barely scraped through qualifying and in the producer's opinion not worth the air time. Still they showed it though, just to satisfy the media hype if nothing else. By the last day every single trainer except Jack had been interviewed and filmed.

It was with some trepidation that they prepared to film him, down it the most dilapidated area of the complex. They thought they would find another mediocre trainer. How wrong they were. Little did they know that they would find perhaps the biggest story of the competition in the smallest, oldest arena looked over by everyone.

When they burst through the corrugated iron door Jack was in the middle of intense training. He was working out himself, straining his pectorals on the iron bench-press whilst barking out orders to his Pokémon. Kabi and Dante where partaking in a physical battle. They were pushing against each other, trying to flip the other using just their physical strength amidst much grunting and popping of joints.

Harry and Asrael were engaged in a strangely intricate dance of attack and counterattack where Asrael would attack with electricity, fire or an iron hard tail and be repulsed by hastily erected barriers of psychically bound molecules and send scurrying away by sparking balls of psychic power.

It was a strange training ritual that their eyes took in and immediately Jack was assaulted by flashing cameras, large fluffy microphones and leering video cameras. It was very quickly that Jack's training session degenerated into a media-run farce.

For a reason that Jack could not fathom the media loved him. He was the perfect dark horse for them to film. He was aloof, mysterious with an almost abrasive personality and his Pokémon were rare, powerful and extremely photogenic.

They seemed to identify it as their personal goal to paint him as a force to be reckoned with in the competition and ruin his quiet training session and plan to take his opponents by surprise. With his training session effectively over and things out of his hands Jack decided to let events lead him and enjoy the attention and publicity that was being heaped upon him.

He spent the next hour placed in different poses, conducting his Pokémon in entirely fake training sessions and lifting the heaviest weights possible whilst the cameras recorded his every move. And he enjoyed it. It was exhilarating.

When Jack returned to his room he idly flicked on the TV to see his face staring out on every channel. Every single channel. For a while Jack just watched the stories of himself marvelling at his new look. He had not seen himself since he was kidnapped by Team Rocket and four hard months in the underground had really transformed him. Before that he had been a lanky kid who hadn't quite grown into himself and who walked around with a determined expression.

On the outside at least, there was nothing to separate him from the scores of other new trainers. Now the story was completely different. He had grown taller and was verging on six foot. His months of hard physical training had turned his body from lanky to a well-oiled machine of rock hard muscle. His face had also adapted and grown well and now smouldering eyes stared intensely out of his face. He looked like a real trainer now. A professional.

It was this look that he carefully cultivated for his group stage. He turned himself into a hardened professional Pokémon trainer who would do all he could to win. In his group stages he was supreme. He left out Harry in all but one of the matches and used the combined brunt of Dante, Kabi and Asrael to batter his opponent's into submission.

Add in moments of real skill against the more talented opponents which really turned the battles around and he was starting to garner attention. After finishing at the top of his group – granted a relatively weak group – with five wins, no losses and having not lost one Pokémon he was a real talking point in the hype surrounding the Conference.

Add in the fact that somehow the journalists had managed to dig up information on his parents and painted him as "_the misunderstood boy who ran away from controlling parents to pursue his dream of becoming a Pokémon trainer_" the hype began to climax to a feverish level.

Jack knew that he would not have an easy road of it through the knockout rounds. That was made abundantly clear in the last sixteen where he came back from the brink of defeat with Dante to beat an extremely powerful Charizard. That trainer wasn't even one of the favourites.

His quarter final match was a fight with the pre-tournament favourite. Not only had this trainer progressed through his group stage without losing a Pokémon but he had steamrollered through the last sixteen as well against another of the pre-tournament favourites.

His incredibly powerful Tyranitar, which he always opened with, had not been beaten so far in the tournament and his other two Pokémon – a Shiftry and an Umbreon – weren't weaklings either. When Jack stepped out onto the circular training platform protruding out of the side of the stadium directly over the battlefield and placed his Pokéballs in their slots he was nervous about a Pokémon battle for the first time in his life.

A slim man in his early twenties dressed in black jeans, a white vest and a black leather jacket stood confidently opposite him waving to the cheering crowd. When he was introduced by the commentator as Emre over a loudspeaker he put his hand to his mouth and blew a kiss to the cheering fans whose rise in volume completely drowned out the man talking over the speakers.

Jack looked on in disgust as the girls screamed in delight at this action and began to argue over who he was aiming the kiss at. He bit his lip and tried not to let the contempt show on his face when commentator announced his name to the crowd and waved lazily as he was obliged to do.

He was surprised at the strength of the support he had built up in the short time he had been battling at the Silver Conference as the cheer the greeted him was every bit as loud as the cheer that had greeted the favourite.

Same as always Emre released his Tyranitar onto the grassy floor of the stadium. The creature was six foot tall and looked hugely powerful with its tree trunk arms and legs, spiked tail and vicious serrated claws. It stomped the ground hard and let out a terrifying roar which immediately silenced the whole stadium. Jack didn't have any Pokémon which would be effective against the Tyranitar so he decided that he would fight like with like.

It was not often that Emre and saw a Pokémon that was both taller and heavier than his Tyranitar, but Kabi was exactly that. She was nearly a full foot taller than her opponent and over twice as heavy. The two Pokémon circled each other, each sizing the other up, before retreating to opposite corners of the battlefield. Both were tensed like taught bowstrings and exploded towards each other when the battle was started.

They collided hard and Kabi's superior weight enabled her to shoulder barge the Tyranitar to the grassy floor. Following through with the attack she threw herself on top of the Tyranitar and crushed the armoured Pokémon into the ground.

The Tyranitar positioned its arms underneath Kabi's stomach and heaved. The huge muscles in its shoulders bunched and knotted as it used its incredible strength to throw the enormous Snorlax onto the ground beside it. The Tyranitar surged to its feet and slashed its serrated claws into Kabi's thick, protective blubber.

The claws ripped out great chunks of flesh from the floored Kabi before she could even react and the poor Pokémon yelled in pain and anger. A stubby but powerful limb connected with the rhombus-shaped hole of bare flesh – the only place on the Tyranitar's body where it wasn't protected by rocky armour – and bludgeoned the creature to the ground.

Kabi regained her footing uncertainly and body slammed the winded Tyranitar at Jack's urgings. It let out a small yelp accompanied by a squeak of escaping air as its lungs were crushed empty. Whilst she lay on top of her opponent Kabi began to smash her fists into its face after being ordered to do so by her trainer. The Tyranitar tensed its thick neck and took the powerful punches before latching down on one of Kabi's fists with its mouth.

The sharp teeth bit deep into Kabi's flesh and it twisted the huge Snorlax off its own body with a twist of the muscles in its powerful neck. The two Pokémon grabbed each other and began to roll around as the fight degenerated into a wrestling match. Neither trainer was ordering their Pokémon about as the two became indistinguishable in the rolling mass of limbs.

Finally it seemed that Kabi had got the upper hand as she slammed her shoulder into the Tyranitar's gut and viciously kicked it. As the creature rose slowly Jack barked out an order. 'Kabi use mega punch!'

Kabi's fist smashed into the rising Tyranitar's chin with a loud crunch that echoed around the stadium causing all noise to cease immediately. The creature's neck snapped back and it began to stagger around dazed like a drunkard. 'Again,' ordered Jack as he closed in on doing something that no-one had succeeded in doing the whole tournament.

Kabi followed her powerful right hook with an even more powerful left one. It was a knockout blow. The creature hit the ground with a thump that echoed around the silent stadium. For a second silence reigned still and Emre's shocked intake of breath could be heard, then the crowd erupted with applause and cheers and jeers.

Jack took a bow and Kabi beat roared triumphantly. Jack saw Emre's lips pull back from his teeth as he growled under his breath and recalled his fallen Tyranitar. Cursing he pressed the button directly beneath his third Pokéball and a medium sized black cat was released in a concave beam of white light. Yellow bands ringed its tail and ears and bright orange eyes shone out from its pitch black body.

It wasted no time in attacking Kabi. Clouds of dark energy began to wrap around its body as it smashed into Kabi with a tackle that seemed too powerful for its size. It completely flattened Kabi and began to claw at her body with small but very sharp claws. Before Kabi could recover the Umbreon stared intently into her eyes and a purple ray passed between them.

The Umbreon prepared to attack again but Kabi threw it bodily away from her and got to her feet. The creature flipped in the air almost immediately and landed lightly on its feet. It began to prance madly, taunting the already angry Kabi with its arrogant swagger. Jack did not see the ray pass between the two Pokémon and wanted to take advantage of Kabi's superior size and strength.

'Kabi use mega punch,' ordered Jack for the second time. It was only after the order issued from his mouth that he realised Kabi was looking decidedly confused. She staggered around for a bit then punched herself in the face. The crowd winced as Kabi fell immediately to the floor. She wasn't unconscious but she was as dazed as the Tyranitar after one punch.

The Umbreon closed in on its dazed prey and finished the battle with one move. All the shadows around the stadium were suddenly highlighted before being dragged towards a point directly in front of the Umbreon. They were fused together so a ball of twisting and writhing shadow stuff hovered in the air. Then the ball was smashed into Kabi.

It was surprising how much damage a ball of shadows can do to a living creature. It hit with more force than any blows Kabi had taken so far and it hit her in her weak point. The attack knocked her out cold and left her face as a mass of swelling and deep cuts. The Umbreon howled chillingly and yawned contemptuously at its unconscious opponent.

It settled its haunches down on the ground and stared up at Jack. Emre smiled and pressed his fingers to his temples as if he was massaging out a headache. The Umbreon cocked its head to the side as if it had heard something interesting and bobbed its head up and down as if assent.

Jack recalled Kabi and released Asrael in her place. The Dragonair was immediately transfixed by the Umbreon's gaze before it could even move to attack. A purple ray passed between the two Pokémon and Asrael's eyes began to whirl around in his head. His flight through the air became erratic and his actions lost all logic.

The Umbreon sniggered and began to taunt Asrael as it had done so to Kabi. Asrael snarled in anger and electricity began to crackle around his body as he let lose a hail of electricity towards the Umbreon. In his confused state the electricity exploded out uncontrollably in all directions.

Most of the electricity shocked through the Umbreon's body and dropped in one attack due to Asrael's increased power, however some of the stray bolts arced into the crowd causing a small ripple of exclamations and screams through the stadium.

Emre looked shocked that he was down to his last Pokémon but he still had that arrogant confidence that made Jack want to punch him in the face. He released his third Pokémon with a flourish and stared intently at Jack. He slowly drew a finger across his neck as a wooden skinned, long nosed Pokémon with a white, bushy mane and broad, leafy hands got ready to join the fray.

Though it was Emre's last Pokémon it certainly wasn't weak. Its eyes began to glow purple as it attacked psychically. Quick as a flash a faint purple aura exploded from its body and crashed into Asrael. Asrael shook as the aura slashed through his body and dropped suddenly in his flight. He began to shake even more as the attack ended and crashed heavily to the ground.

The Shiftry began to let out pulse after pulse from its body as Asrael seemed to implode. He continued shaking harder and harder as if his body was wracked with death throes before finally stopping, his body collapsing in on itself and his eyes staring unseeing into the distance. Jack couldn't tell what had happened, because it had all happened so quickly, but he could see that Asrael was well and truly out of action.

Emre looked worried and his confident demeanour melted away for the first time since Jack had seen him when he saw Jack's Pokémon. Jack knew he had the advantage with Dante on the field and wanted to finish the match as quickly as possible. At an order from Jack Dante opened his mouth and released a blazing inferno. Emre blanched at the intensity of the inferno and pressed his fingers to his temple insistently.

The Shiftry cocked its head to the side and began to beat its broad leafy hands through the air creating powerful winds. For a second it looked like the flames were going to be blown back by the wind then the intensity of the flames overwhelmed the wind and the Shiftry was surrounding by a raging firestorm. 'Oops,' said Jack mockingly, 'that was a mistake.'

Emre shot a violent look at him, grinding his teeth together as he realised that he was going to lose for the first time this tournament. The first time in a very long time.

Then his Pokémon was engulfed in a raging fiery inferno.


	18. Silver Conference

**Author Notes: Thanks Eli. W for reviewing. If you don't review this chapter after reading I'll be very sad...please review and make me happy!**

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It was a testament to the quality of the trainers in the tournament that Jack's quarter final wasn't even the highlight of that round. An hour after his match had finished he sat down to watch a real spectacle – a testament to the skill of trainers everywhere and a beacon of quality that all youngsters should aspire to.

There was nothing more entertaining than watching two gym leaders fighting in a match made even more interesting by the fact that Erika had a severe disadvantage with her easily burnt grass Pokémon. The match lasted for nearly two hours and both trainers and Pokémon exhibited fantastic skill. Erika especially surpassed herself on the battlefield, even with the huge disadvantage against her she was in contention for the whole match.

In fact she had Blaine down to his third and last Pokémon – his signature Magmortar – before she had had lost her second – the powerful Tangrowth. Then she pulled off the biggest surprise of the tournament by actually _winning_ – a feat that no-one had expected from her. Her last Pokémon, one that had been drafted from another region, had wiped the floor with Blaine's Magmortar and taken her through to the semi-finals.

Which were a bit of a letdown. Neither of the fights was ever in doubt; there was no contest from the very beginning to the very end. Erika set a record for the quickest win in the ten year history of the silver Contest. Three minutes and thirty seven seconds. Jack knew that this semi-final match would be the easiest so far but he didn't expect it to be a whitewash.

He opened with Harry and their telepathic communication gave him a great advantage that he was just beginning to realise the potential of. Harry defeated his opposite number – a fairly mediocre Venusaur – with consummate ease and carried on the confidence into the next pairing. When Harry completely destroyed an also fairly mediocre Magnezone Jack was starting to wonder how his opponent had even progressed beyond the group stages.

The last Pokémon didn't enlighten Jack that much either. The wicked looking Scyther, which didn't capitalise on its physical advantages, was easily defeated by a veritable hailstorm of psychic attacks sent its way, to end the battle within fifteen minutes of its starting. Jack's opponent was booed off the court as the spectators expressed their anger at being cheated out of a good match for the second time. At least they had one thing to look forward to. As one commentator so eloquently put it, "This final threatens to be a rather good show!"

The nervousness that Jack had felt before battling with Emre had completely vanished. It had left him the moment he had defeated the trainer's Tyranitar and never even threatened to poison Jack's mind again. As he stood on the semi-circular oval platform and stared at the kimonoed Erika he felt calmness descend over him. It was the calmness that came with the knowledge that you were fulfilling your true calling

He watched the two Pokémon standing on the field below prepare themselves for the battle. Harry, four feet of a goofy Social Darwinist, bounced around on his demented black feet as he psyched himself up for the battle to come. The Tangrowth idly scratched its vine covered forehead with its elastic arms and blinked heavy-lidded eyes out of the mass of vines that hugged its body.

It stood up suddenly, its red furred feet barely visible beneath the trailing skirt of vines, and began to wave its boneless appendages to the crowd.

Though both the Pokémon were afflicted with comical visages they were devils when they fought. The Tangrowth attacked with surprising ferocity, slamming Harry to the ground with flailing arms before immediately releasing a shockwave of bright energy that Jack recognised as the "ancientpower" attack.

The attack was repulsed by a concave barrier that shimmered into being around Harry's body; a barrier which the Tangrowth would immediately batter against with all its might – though the effort was ultimately in vain as the barrier did not give. During the battle Jack was engaged in a quickfire mental conversation as he ordered Harry around.

_Drop the barrier and attack with psychic _he thought and almost before he had finished message Harry was acting out his orders. The barrier dissipated and the Tangrowth was thrown backwards by a tremendous invisible force. It was pinned to the ground and crushed as Harry brought the full force of his mind to bear down on it. It takes a lot of effort to carry out that kind of attack and Harry trailed off quickly before he could finish of the Tangrowth.

It rose from the ground looking like a primordial beast and smashed a powerful, elastic arm into Harry's chest as Erika's order of, 'power whip,' echoed around the stadium. The psychic Pokémon was driven to the ground, clutching his ribs in pain as two loud cracks pierced the air.

Though he was injured Harry was adamant he was not going to be defeated – he angrily seared this message into Jack's mind when the boy suggested he should be recalled – and attacked with two disorientating psychic beams. They hit the Tangrowth as hard as any punches and the creature staggered under the force of the attack. Harry dragged himself to his feet and launched a hail of weaker psychic attacks towards his rapidly flagging opponent.

'Protect yourself,' ordered Erika, her voice cracking slightly in panic, and the Tangrowth obliged by dropping to the floor and curling up into a ball. The attacks battered the curled up Pokémon but in its current position, and with its thick covering of protective vines, the Tangrowth wasn't injured at all.

It tried to rise again but Harry was having none of it. He focussed his mind for one last attack before unleashing an explosion of psychic energy. The Tangrowth had uncurled from its defensive position and was standing up when it was caught unawares by the attack. The attack connecting with its midsection and it was sent pirouetting through the air to hit the metal wall at the base of the stadium head first.

It didn't get up. Sighing regretfully Erika recalled her Tangrowth and ran a delicate hand with intricately painted nails through her silky black hair. Her fingers hovered over her the tray in which her Pokéballs were resting before finally choosing a destination. She pressed the large steel button beneath her intended Pokéball and a beam of white land signalled its arrival onto the field.

This match up quickly degenerated into a complete stalemate. The Victreebel – a frankly horrifying plant with a cavernous maw – used the corrosive acid brewing in its stomach to keep Harry running at all times. Mix in a light sprinkling of toxic sludge, wickedly barbed leaves and groping vines you have to feel sorry for Harry who was unable to get an attack in.

In the very rare moments where he could create a counterstrike Harry's attacks were blocked by quickly assembled walls of leaves. In was very frustrating for the attack-minded Pokémon and soon he was panting with exertion from the battle. The Victreebel on the other hand barely needed to move and looked – though Jack wasn't sure he could tell because of its alien looking anatomy – to be barely breaking a sweat. It didn't take much effort to spit up some acid or toxic sludge or call forth razor edged leaves to do its bidding.

With Harry tiring quickly he was always going to leave an opening. It was after nearly an hour of lightning quick fighting that he finally slipped up. It was a very small slip-up - there was barely anything he did wrong!

He raised a barrier maybe half a second to slow. That was it. But that half a second enabled the Victreebel to get in a hit. The highly corrosive acid ate into Harry's skin almost immediately and with the fiery pain engulfing his whole body the Pokémon could not continue maintaining his shield. More acid was spewed forth onto his body and soon his skin had completely disappeared revealing raw red flesh beneath.

Jack's mind was full of Harry's agonised screaming and he could barely reach down and press the button to recall his injured Pokémon, such was the volume of the psychic Pokémon's agony. As soon as Jack's finger exerted force on the steel button Harry was recalled and the screaming stopped, leaving a loud ringing sound, like a brass gong being hit, echoing in his ears.

Asrael made the mistake of underestimated its acid-spewing opponent. He paused to take in the situation and was greeted by a jet of corrosive acid. He screamed as the acid began to eat into his scales and billowed flames from his mouth in the direction of his tormentor. The Victreebel showed surprising speed as it rolled quickly out of the path of the fire and hosed more acid in the stricken Asrael's direction.

The dragon Pokémon did not know what had hit him. He had barely been on the battlefield thirty seconds and he was already drenched in potent acid that was eating painfully away at his skin. Asrael crashed heavily to the ground and began to roll around on the grass as he tried desperately to rub off the acid from his skin.

Whilst its opponent was engaging in the strange antics the Victreebel took the opportunity to belch highly potent toxic sludge towards that same opponent. The toxic sludge exploded onto Asrael and clung to him viciously as the poison began to seep into his bloodstream.

The poison quickly weakened him and the Victreebel aimed to destroy him completely with another jet of acid. Unfortunately for the grass Pokémon Asrael saw the attack coming. It was also unfortunate that the acid was highly flammable. Asrael met the acid with a jet of flame and the effect of the two colliding was simply explosive. The liquid ignited just above the Victreebel's...stalk?...and drenched the grass Pokémon in liquid flame.

It screamed as it burnt. Asrael screamed as the acid he hadn't managed to remove from his skin finally reached his flesh and the poison began to pool around his organs. 'The decision from the referee,' barked the commentator excitedly, 'is a double knockout!' Though neither of the Pokémon were actually unconscious the referee could make the decision to withdraw both of them if they were experiencing undue suffering and agony.

The battle came down to the last two Pokémon. Dante was facing a mutant. At least, that was what Jack thought it was, for it was the most bizarre Pokémon Jack had ever seen. Its skin was made up of green scales but long cream fur striped with brown zigzags covered up most of its body. It had extremely large green hands, a large yellow platypus-esque beak and a wide, leafy lily pad perched on top of its head which, because of its covering of fur, was indistinguishable from the rest of its body.

From its beak issued a large trilling sound and it began to dance gaily from foot to foot, prancing around with enthusiasm that reminded Jack of Scott. _Cross this with a Snorlax and you have him _thought Jack wryly before chuckling at his own joke. A voice in his head reminded him that laughing at your own jokes was sad. Jack didn't care – he thought he was going to win easily so he was feeling cheerful. He could not have been more wrong.

It was his lack of knowledge that finished him in this match. He assumed that the Pokémon he was facing was either grass or poison type. He did not even entertain the fact that it may be water. The lily pad on its head should have given him a clue but he dismissed it. That wasn't a good idea. It went wrong from the very start. Jack ordered Dante to finish the match quickly with fire. Erika quirked an eyebrow at this order and matched it with her own.

'Use rain dance,' she called. Jack frowned, 'what? Rain dance?' Erika's enigmatic smile did not reassure him. Before Dante could attack clouds began to form above the stadium. Soon rain began to drum down onto the floor, the equal of any monsoon. Huge water droplets burst with the force of tennis ball on top of both the trainers – who were the only two people apart from the Pokémon caught inside the storm.

Dante's flamethrower attack was not extinguished by the storm, but it may have well had been. The strange Pokémon moved so fast that it blurred inside the sheeting rain and dodged the attack easily.

'Now Ludicolo, use hydro pump,' ordered Erika. Jack's eyes must have popped out of his skull at this order, such was his surprise. He opened his mouth to issue an order, but he was so gobsmacked that only a small breath of air escaped. An incredibly thick column of water knocked Dante onto the ground as he was caught in what must have been like hell to him.

Whilst Dante was crushed to the floor by the sheer weight of the water assaulting him Erika fired off another order. Immediately the "hydro pump" attack stopped and Dante was able to struggle to his feet. He shouldn't have. The Ludicolo's fist began to crackle with white energy as it focussed through meditating and suddenly it was directly in front of the fire Pokémon.

The punch it delivered was indescribable. All six hundred pounds of him was lifted high into the air and thrown a good ten metres before crashing heavily into the ground, ploughing a muddy trough through the previously untouched grass. It was clearly a knockout blow. Jack had lost.

As both trainers recalled their Pokémon the downpour stopped immediately leaving the field a muddy pool and Erika and Jack completely drenched. The crowd exploded into a cacophony of cheering as they chanted the name of their gym leader. Erika took a bow as both of the trainers were led to the winner's podium by smart suited ushers. As he passed Erika the trainer pressed something into his hand.

'You deserve this very much,' she said quietly, 'you have well and truly earned it.' As Erika walked away Jack opened up his fist to see the multicoloured rainbow badge nestling in the flesh of his palm. He called the thanks back to Erika but she was already out of view. 'And that makes four,' he whispered under his breath as he tucked the badge into a small pocket sown close to his heart.

The presentation passed by in a whirlwind of pompous speeches and flash photography. Both of the finalists were awarded trophies – granted Erika's was substantially larger and fancier than Jack's – as well as sizeable prize money. There was also the shiny gold ticket enabling the holder to enter the Gold Conference.

Jack folded the gold ticket carefully and slipped it into his pocket so he definitely would not lose it – he definitely would never forgive himself for that! Things seemed to graduate from good to better for Jack as he was approached by a tall, lanky, corporate man in a black suit. Ignoring all questions from Jack he hastily ushered him into a black stretched limo where his boss was waiting – though he was separated by a black tinted glass partition which Jack definitely could not see through.

'Jack Lovata,' said "the boss" in a deep melodious voice, 'I've been watching you for a while now. You have great talent and I can help you fulfil that. If I sponsor you at the Gold Conference you will get considerable benefits from it.' The man stopped speaking to let his message sink in.

'Not only will you get fantastic training facilities, more fame and publicity and the most adept staff that money can buy, but you will also get to train with the large group of friendly, talented trainers who work for me. The sponsorship doesn't only cover the Gold Conference, don't worry about that. I will also organise special exhibitions and other such events that will make you a household name _and _I will assist you in your Pokémon League Challenge. How about it?'

Whilst the man was speaking Jack began to get the nagging feeling that the offer seemed too good to be true. _There must be a catch _he thought _so I have to be very careful in what I actually agree to_.

'I know your thinking,' continued the man, 'that there must be a catch to this offer.' He paused as shiver travelled up Jack's spine at how accurate his guess was. 'There is no catch. All I ask for in return is a small share of the profits you make – only 5% mind you – and the honour to add my name and my managing team below yours.'

Jack considered the offer. 'Hmmm,' he hummed consideringly, 'hmmm.' It took him a while before he answered. 'I accept,' he said finally, 'sounds too good to be true but...still I accept.' Somehow Jack could tell the man was smiling, 'that's good. I thought you might...I...thought...you...might.' Jack shivered again, though this time there was no reason behind it. He thought he could sense something malevolent near him. 'What's your name?' he asked suddenly.

'Indigo,' came the reply.


	19. Viral Thief

**Author Notes: I've only had one review in the last 4 chapters! R & R makes the world go round.**

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Jack found that fame did not sit well with him. It did not sit well at all. After his exploits at the Silver Conference he could not travel anywhere without being recognised and swamped by autograph hunters, fan-girls and trainers seeking tips.

He could never find any peace and quiet anywhere, and because he still had four gym badges to obtain he could not find a quiet, lonely spot away from the masses where he could train himself and his Pokémon to his heart's content, alone. After a month of disturbed deliberating he decided he would travel to the teeming metropolis of Saffron to challenge Sabrina, the famous psychic gym leader.

Luckily, because of the sheer volume of people packed into what felt like a steel and glass melting pot, Jack was not recognised or disturbed. He was able to quietly slip into the Pokémon Mart, buy a handful of plastic aerosols painted in impossibly bright colours, and enter the gym without drawing a crowd.

As soon as he entered, the gym doors shut themselves behind him and he looked out into what seemed like a bare iron prison. Nothing decorated or protected the walls, ceiling or floor and the iron surface was scarred and charred in many places from the intense battles that took place within. _Hello Jack Lovata _boomed a high voice in his head _I have foreseen your coming. We will battle now. _

A small petite woman with delicate features and long, smooth, indigo hair stood at the other end of the gym. Well...stood is not the best word. More like hovered. She glided elegantly through the air, her hair fanning out behind her, and released a Pokéball from her hand. The Pokéball travelled slowly through the air, as if it was bobbing through a viscous liquid, and broke in half.

_Since I only have two Pokémon on me at the moment, this battle will be two vs. two _stated Sabrina serenely as a spindly, moustached Pokémon clutching crumpled spoons in both its hands materialised out of the white light released by the Pokéball.

Dante recognised the Pokémon as an Alakazam and released the same Pokémon he used to defeat another member of the brainy creature's species. The Alakazam attacked Kabi as soon as she materialised and the huge creature was tossed to the side, hitting the metal wall so hard that it crumpled slightly.

Kabi shook her head angrily as she picked herself up, her eyes filling with blood as the berserker fury descended upon her. She bludgeoned her way through the Alakazam's psychic barriers and prepared to smash the creature into a pulp. Using all of its strength, the Alakazam managed to hold back Kabi's onslaught.

It shook with the strain but it managed to maintain its hold. The Pokémon stood like that for what seemed like an age as seconds melted into minutes. Neither creature would give in. Then the strangest thing happened.

Both Pokémon were immediately returned to their Pokéballs. Then their Pokéballs disappeared. Jack whirled round and found that his bag had disappeared too, the bag containing that precious egg. _STOP! _Boomed Serena, and for a second the creature stopped in its tracks. Jack only caught sight of a red and green humanoid creature with whip-like tentacles instead of arms before it disappeared.

_That's the thing that stole all my other Pokémon earlier _muttered Sabrina angrily _can I count on your help for finding them and bringing the thief to justice. _Jack answered by sprinting off after the strange creature with Sabrina levitating effortlessly behind him, easily matching his speed. Sabrina caught up with the still sprinting Jack and placed a hand on his shoulder. There was a bright flash of light as she teleported them away.

Jack landed hard and rolled uncontrollably for five metres before unceremoniously being brought to a stop by a psychic barrier. He staggered to his feet and saw the Pokémon handing their belongings to a young boy, dark haired, mousy and waif-like, who couldn't have been more than ten years old. 'Thanks Deoxys,' he squeaked, patting the Pokémon's head, 'we can sell these for a lot of money.'

Sabrina coughed loudly and her voice sounded deafeningly in the skulls of every being there. _Give me back my Pokémon. Now!' _The boy let out a squeak of fear and twisted around on the spot like a caged animal. Suddenly he let out a yell of rage, 'Deoxys attack!' Sabrina only had one Pokémon left, and it was one of her weaker Pokémon, bred especially for fighting in her gym, and not one of her original team.

She released the giant purple, bug-eyed moth which beat its large delicate wings. A small white storm of spores immediately blew towards the Deoxys.

It moved ridiculously fast, faster than any quick attack or extremespeed move, and appeared directly in front of the Venomoth. Its body suddenly let off a purple flash as it mutated and twisted. Its arm gained another tentacle, the large conical protuberance behind its skull collapsed to form a three pointed cranium and its legs gained bulky red and green armour.

The change happened in less than a second and the creature smashed a tentacle into the Venomoth. The tentacle sliced through the moth's body like a Sharpedo through a shoal of Barboach and the two halves of the creature hit the ground metres apart, oozing thick blood that stained whatever it touched a melancholy maroon. Then the Pokémon prepared to attack Sabrina, who had created a psychic barrier around herself. It never finished its attack.

Whilst the Deoxys was busy dismembering the Venomoth Jack had released Dante and ordered him to attack from behind. The lava dome Pokémon was not happy with his order, but in seeing the Pokémon threaten a defenceless human, his doubts immediately melted away. He bowled into the back of the Deoxys and knocked it flying. The creature was nearly knocked out cold with one attack and as it landed, heavily and dizzily, it began to mutate.

Its body began to thicken and bulk up as what seemed like orange and green armour, with properties very similar to Kevlar, covering it completely from head to toe. Dante attacked again with a crushing punch but the attack seemed to have little effect on the creature. It wasn't even knocked back by the blow and quickly mutated to the three pointed form with multiple tentacles – what seemed to be its preferred Attack Form.

It landed a crushing hit onto Dante's side with its tentacle, leaving a very deep cut spurting the liquid fire that seemed to be his blood.

Dante roared and released a blazing inferno in the direction of his assailant. The Deoxys had already mutated into its hardier structure - what seemed to be its Defence Form - and the fire washed over it without even burning its smooth outer armour. As the fire abated it twisted to its Attack Form and attacked again. The creature had to flip to the side to dodge four lethal claws and was driven on the defensive by a pained onslaught from Dante.

He was breathing heavily and the liquid fire spurting from the wound in his side was scorching the ground around him. The Deoxys closed in for the kill again and had to hastily change forms as a huge burst of fire exploded around it. As it stood in the fire it was sent sprawling to the floor by a flaming tackle and pinned down in a destructive body slam.

It squirmed and twisted, but Dante's weight was too much for it to escape from. Slowly Dante began to crush it, trying to crack and shatter the outer armour which protected it from most blows.

It changed form again, to the least bulky figure – which seemed to be its fastest form - with the long, conical skull, and in the brief millisecond in which it had some space around it, it moved away. It bulged and mutated as it changed into its attacking form and unleashed a devastating psychic attack towards Dante. The attack never reached.

Whilst the Deoxys was preoccupied in fighting Dante, Sabrina had crept behind, gagged the boy and retrieved her Pokémon. Now all five Pokémon of her most powerful party were released, and they were very angry. The creature twisted around and saw five irate psychic Pokémon behind it.

It twisted to escape and was frozen by the psychics' combined power, looking like some hideously enlarged virus given life, though possibly not a conscience to go with it. The boy had already run and Sabrina did not bother recapturing him as he left all the possessions he had stolen behind.

_What are you? _asked Sabrina forcefully as she used the combined powers of the psychic Pokémon around her, and her own powers of course, to force the creature to answer. It answered in the same way. _I am Deoxys. _Its voice was afflicted with a strange and torturous accent. _Why were you stealing our stuff? _Sabrina pressed, the force of her power so great that Jack could feel it pounding across his cranium, even though it wasn't actually aimed at him.

_That boy needed help and money _answered the creature slowly _and he needed company. I gave him all three things by giving him what he deserved. He reminded me of my younger brother who was killed on entry. _Sabrina bit her lip as she debated with herself. _Are you a psychic? _she queried suddenly, her hand involuntary stroking a circular object in her pocket. _Yes _replied the Deoxys at length _do it if you want. I don't mind. It may be fun for a while._

Sabrina whipped out a Pokéball with an "M" scrawled onto the top and proceeded to capture the creature. There was no fight at all and almost immediately the Pokéball signalled that it had captured its intended target. Sabrina looked extremely pleased as she returned all six of her Pokémon and attached the balls to her belt.

_Now I have six _she muttered quietly, seeming to forget that her voice echoed inside the skulls of the adjacent humans and Pokémon. As Jack recalled Dante Sabrina appeared to offer something to him. _I feel that you deserve this Jack Lovata. I have foreseen the future in which we battle, and it is you that comes out on top. I know this so I will hand you this badge, which is also a thanks for helping me retrieve my Pokémon and finally complete my team. I foresaw this Pokémon when I was but three years old, I foresaw its power and its significance. I'm just upset that it took me eighteen years to finally capture it._

Jack received the solid gold circle with reverence and carefully placed it with his four other badges, in a special leather container with sections for every single badge in every single region that he had recently purchased. He thanked the psychic gym leader profusely, but already his mind was focussing on obtaining his next gym badge from the ninja Koga in Fuchsia.

He would need to travel west out of Saffron, through Celadon and down the cycling path, taking great care to avoid the hordes of Muk and Grimer that poison the land either side. It would be good to visit the Safari Zone too, and from there he could take a ferry to Cinnabar Island and challenge Blaine...Jack had everything planned out.

As he stepped down to pick up his bag the egg rolled out. Cracks were running down its smooth shell and there was an insistent tapping sound echoing from within. The egg began to roll around twitchily, of its own accord, as the baby Pokémon within struggled to escape from the restraining shell.

Suddenly a tiny horn punctured the surface and a blue scaled head with delicately curled ears and large, soulful eyes poked out, a small section of the broken shell balancing on its head. Wriggling its small body it managed to drag itself out of the egg, a thin webbing of gunk still covering its skin.

It lifted its head to the air and began to sing wordlessly and sweetly. Suddenly, as if given a cue by the singing, Jack's Pokédex began to chatter of its own accord in the annoying, mechanical voice. **Lapras, the transport Pokémon. ****They have gentle hearts. Because they rarely fight, many have been caught. Their number has dwindled because of this. Its high intelligence enables it to understand human speech. It likes to ferry people on its back. **

The baby Lapras nuzzled Jack's hand happily before cutely rolling onto its shell – which was grey and very smooth, though according to the Pokédex hard, bony nubs would erupt through the surface as it aged – and playfully batting Jack with its large front flippers. Jack reached into his pack and whipped out Pokéball. Whilst the Pokémon looked at him trustingly he pressed the central button and watched whilst the Lapras dematerialised in the yellow beam.

When Jack released it the Lapras bumbled around confusedly before falling asleep in what looked like mid stride. Jack returned to Saffron with the creature cradled in his arms, not caring about the strange looks that people were throwing him. Whilst the creature slept its mind reached out and joined with Jack's for the first time since the dark days in the Underground.

This time there was one sentence that echoed within the cacophony of vivid sights, sounds and smells. It echoed around Jack's brain as they shared strange dreams in the sparse rooms at Saffron Pokémon centre. _I am Kitane. _The voice was still echoing around Jack's head when he was rudely awakened by a man in a black suit knocking hard on his door.

The man knocked insistently, calling out, 'Mr. Indigo wants to talk with you Mr. Lovata.' Sighing Jack ended the strange, restful dream that had wrapped itself around his brain and heaving himself out of bed. Indigo was calling.

In a way Jack was glad that he experienced what followed, because it opened his eyes to the true nature of what he was dealing with. The man named Indigo was in the middle of a meeting when Jack arrived at his red-bricked stately-home, just outside Fuchsia, and by "accident" the teenager pressed his ear to the door so he could hear everything happening in side.

Jack recognised Indigo's deep voice reverberating through the pinewood door, and to his surprised he also recognised the other lilting tone. 'We need to lure them all together, and the Gold Conference is the best place to do that...' Indigo was saying calmly whilst the other man was obviously trying to interrupt him.

'When we do that, Giratina will perform the act and the League will be totally crippled. From there we can retake both Kanto and Johto, and mount our campaigns on Hoenn and Sinnoh on that platform.' Jack recognised the silver-tongued voice that tried to argue with him, and swore under his breath. 'That's totally impossible to do. With their combined power they will be able to subdue Giratina!' shouted Giovanni argumentatively, though the Rocket leader seemed to defer to the shadowy Indigo.

'We will lure them there and my ghosts will kill them all, we will harvest it and then we will give me power!' shouted Indigo back at Giovanni, the insanity so clear in his voice sending shivers of fear up Jack's spine. 'It's been one thousand years since I was thrown down,' screamed the man, 'one thousand years.'

'You mortals cannot understand what that is like. One thousand years without power, hiding in the background, trying to organise things from the shadows. I am a warrior. This is what I do best. I take action with my Pokémon.' When Giovanni replied Jack could hear the uncertainty in his voice, 'OK Indigo. I'll see what I can do. You're not making this easy for me you know.'

Indigo allowed at least a trickle of an apologetic tone into his voice, 'I'm sorry. But I _will _rule on my Plateau again. Indigo Palace will be rebuilt.' The edge of madness returned to his voice when he talked about the Plateau, a madness that made Jack wanted to run away, dig a hole and hide away from the person afflicted.

It was then that Jack felt that tap on the shoulder. 'What are you doing here?'


	20. Sprinkle Of Gold

**Author Notes: Sorry for the late update. I had major writers block for the next couple of chapters so I needed to collect my ideas and create a plan. With that I should be updating quite regularly. Thanks Eli. W and Maymist for reviewing.**

* * *

Jack span round with his gut clenching in terror, his mouth open to provide some desperately fabricated explanation for his snooping. A slim hand was roughly jammed over Jack's mouth and he was pulled into an intricate, wood panelled alcove cut into the wall. The man began to talk quickly and quietly as he jammed the breadth of a long object into Jack's throat, crushing the air from the pipe as the boy choked.

'Don't scream, don't shout,' the man whispered, 'I don't work for Indigo. My name is Gold and I work for the League.' Jack's eyes widened and he stopped struggling against his captor, enabling the man to remove the object pressed against his neck and to begin to twirl what turned out to be a golden snooker cue around idly.

'I am investigated Indigo because of certain...._irregularities _in his affairs. We have nothing concrete against him, but many more questions have been created on close scrutiny of that man.'

Jack realised that what he had heard would be of use to the man and he hurriedly outlined what he had heard. As he was talking Gold's surprisingly young face began to pale, the man looking like a corpse after Jack mentioned what he had heard about Giratina. Then the door which Jack had so diligently eavesdropped through began to open and Jack swore under his breath, telling Gold that Indigo was his sponsor.

As Giovanni exited, followed by the dark suited Indigo, his face hidden by enormous, orange, wraparound goggles that hid most of his features, Gold shoved Jack hard out into the corridor and struck him across the back with his snooker cue. The cue was definitely not gold, if the eruption of pain across Jack's broad back was anything to go by, and Gold used it to devastating effect as he beat Jack onto the floor, though Jack did get the impression that the man was holding back.

Pretending not to see the emerging men Gold began to viciously jab Jack in the ribs with his boot whilst he whispered fiercely, 'tell me everything you know about Indigo!'

Giovanni looked at Indigo, as if for permission, before releasing two hulking brutes of Pokémon. Though both were around four feet tall, they were both wider than that at the shoulder and plated with thick, keratin armour. One, purple skinned and muscle bound, looked particularly vicious with protruding canines, tree trunk limbs and an enormous horn proudly mounting its titanic skull. The other was less muscle-bound, though that didn't mean it still was not powerful, with a row of needle sharp, poisonous spines lining its spine.

Gold doesn't hesitate in matching the earth gym leader's Pokémon with two of his own – a flame-collared Typhlosion and a cute, green frog with one wispy, curled hair adorning its otherwise smooth skull. Gold was kneeling down next to the bruised Jack when he released his Pokémon and he quietly whispered something that created bubbles of laughter inside Jack's stomach. Bubbles which threatened to force their way out of his mouth, however much he clenched his jaw, struggling to stop their escape.

The purple Pokémon of the two, a Nidoking according to his Pokédex, barrelled into the Typhlosion, crashing into the creature's stomach with its purple, plated shoulder. The Typhlosion tightened its core muscles to cushion the blow before retaliating with a vicious flurry of blows that scored deep trenches through the Nidoking's armour.

As the Nidoking retreated from the hulking Typhlosion the other Pokémon, a Nidoqueen, attacked the helpless-looking frog with poisonous intentions in mind. Before the creature reached its small opponent the frog bounced directly over the attack to crash heavily onto its back, narrowly avoiding the toxic barbs.

The Nidoqueen was crushed to the floor, but recovered well and landed a powerful punch onto the giant frog's face. Surprisingly the frog easily shook off the attack and bunched its fist, now crackling with bright white energy. The Nidoqueen was still slightly dazed from the collision and waited for twenty seconds before attacking again. It was a mistake.

With its fist wrapped in crackling energy the Pokémon launched a crushing punch to the to the Nidoqueen's jaw, snapping it instantly and smashing the creature to the floor.

The Nidoqueen somehow heaved itself off the floor, its white lower jaw hanging limply, and staggered towards the green frog. The frog opened its mouth and released a solid wave of sound that instantly burst the eardrums of the Nidoqueen, overwhelming its senses so much so that its brain automatically shut down and the creature succumbed to unconsciousness.

The ease of which his Pokémon was dispatched disturbed Giovanni, and his worry was very obvious on his face. The Nidoking and Typhlosion were engaged in a one-sided wrestling match whilst this was taking place. The Typhlosion obviously wasn't using fire because of the close proximity of the trainers and its extremely flammable surroundings, so it had to rely on its brute strength instead.

Its demolition of the Nidoking was a very impressive display of just that strength. A powerful shove sent the earth Pokémon reeling and a brutal left-right combo of punches knocked it to the floor.

The Nidoking quickly rearranged its body so it was on its hands and knees and exploded towards the Typhlosion with its dangerous horn held in line with the creature's heart. The Typhlosion gripped the Nidoking's enormous horn with both hands and began to lift the creature into the air. Jack could actually see the distinct separation of each part of the deltoid muscle as the Nidoking began to rise into the air.

Suddenly, when it had lifted the Nidoking above its head, the Typhlosion smashed the creature down on to the rocky floor with such force that its keratin armour cracked like eggshells. The finishing move seemed to be timed to coincide with the finishing move of its partner, and both of Giovanni's Pokémon were knocked out at the exact same moment.

Gold returned his Pokémon, fixing Indigo and Giovanni with a fierce glare, before running off. As he ran he viciously kicked out at Jack's leg. A small device attached to the tip of his shoe was transferred into the light covering of hair on Jack's leg and in a room far away a small blip appeared on a large plasma screen.

As Jack lay groaning on the floor he could hear Indigo berate Giovanni for being weak. 'You're such a pathetic wimp Giovanni,' exclaimed Indigo, 'I don't even know why I bother with you. First the clone incident and then this......you let yourself get defeated to easily.' Giovanni's face flushed red with anger as he was put down.

'That is unfair and you know it. I'm not even going to talk about the clone incident, you already _know _whose fault that was, and this isn't my fault either. Do you know who that was?' Indigo paused before quietly admitting that he did not. Giovanni's voice rose with triumph. 'That was Gold. He is the Kanto and Johto Champion. Of course he's going to beat me. He beat _Red _for God's sake.'

Indigo silenced Giovanni with one gesture and walked towards Jack who was still groaning on the floor, his body screaming with pain from the long bruises ripening along his back, chest and legs. Indigo roughly grabbed Jack's hand and hauled him to his feet with little visible effort, transfixing him with a gaze made disturbing by the distorted goggles.

Jack's explanation tumbled confusedly out of his mouth under that gaze. 'I was just entering the door for our meeting when that man set upon me,' he stated, not at all calmly. 'He hit me in the back of the head with that golden stick, knocking me to the floor, and hit me a few more times.' Jack managed to stem the flow of words to gauge Indigo's reaction, but the man wasn't giving anything away.

'He then began to threaten me, asking me for information about you. I told him that you were just my sponsor and I had only met you once....but he didn't listen.' Indigo's face was totally unreadable as he takes in Jack's "tale of woe" and the silence between them dragged out uncomfortably.

Finally Indigo apologised. 'Sorry Jack. I don't like getting my sponsors into trouble. Don't worry about that man, my guards will catch him.' His apology sounded very sincere, and Jack marvelled at the man's fantastic acting. Indigo ushered Jack into the meeting room which he had just exited, completely ignoring Giovanni as he did so.

'So Jack,' said Indigo suddenly, 'let's talk about the Gold Conference.' In the hazy edges of his peripheral vision Jack could see Giovanni pull face, though he couldn't fathom why. 'It will be difficult for you. The trainers there all have _a lot _more experience than you and have all received all of their gym badges. They know what it takes. They don't feel pressure, they know their Pokémon better, they have picked up more tricks and most importantly their bond with their Pokémon is better developed. I think you can do well if you practice a lot before hand. You have the raw talent.'

'You are fantastic at raising strong Pokémon, so much so that you rarely need to order them in battle. Your connection with them is strong and soon, or I hope so anyway, you will be connected on the telepathic level with _all _of your Pokémon. However, to give you a chance of winning this I can only do so much. Most of it can be remedied with practice; however what you do is all up to do. I will give you a practice arena and just hope you excel yourself.'

He finished his speech and began to crack his knuckles quietly, letting his small speech sink in. As he was waiting Giovanni sidled up to him, his face twisted in disgust, and whispered something in his ear.

Indigo nodded and turned back to Jack. 'I haven't introduced you to my colleague, have I? Jack, this is the Viridian City gym leader, Giovanni. Giovanni, this is one of my most promising sponsors, Jack.' The tension in the air was palpable as the two shook hands; Jack's eyes alight with hatred whilst Giovanni's eyes sparked with anger. Jack wondered if Indigo actually knew their history and was purposefully doing this as the man looked completely unaware of the tension.

Jack squeezed Giovanni's hand hard before releasing. If looks could kill Giovanni would have dropped dead minutes ago. 'My colleague has reminded me of something,' continued Indigo blithely, 'I have organised fights with all the remaining gym leaders, ending with Giovanni himself. These fights will occur sometime before the Conference starts and they will give you good battle practice.'

He snapped his fingers and two uniformed men entered the room. 'Show this trainer to the Village please,' he ordered, 'his room will be number thirteen.' The men gave their assent and ushered Jack out of the waiting room into a waiting limbo, closing the door to the plushly upholstered haven with a dull thump.

Jack looked out of his velvet bubble into the beautiful surroundings. The Village was built in the beautiful forest that covered most if Indigo's grounds. The forest itself was stunning. The trees were smooth and sweeping with lovely silver bark and vividly coloured leaves. The sun shone through in patches, creating an aura of mystery that shrouded the whole forest.

Pidgey, their feathers muted beige and brown, nested in the arc-like branches creating intricately designed constructions for their nests. Every now and then a flash of bright yellow signified the escape of a spooked Pikachu and the elusive Vileplume wafted beautiful odours through the air, the scent recognisable but the source never seen. As they progressed further into the forest the quiet aura of mystery was shattered by trainers fighting.

The Village was truly titanic in scale. The more specialised training facilities were positioned in the outskirts. A small clearing in the forest had been created for air combat, a small copse of trees positioned so close together that the branches created an elaborate organic maze was used for tree combat, a large complex of tunnels had been dug, their entrance a crumbling pit, to simulate underground combat and that was barely scratching the surface.

Nearer to the centre was a ring of strategically placed gyms for both Pokémon and human. There was a wide multitude of equipment for humans including bench press, LAT pull-down and leg press as well as an even larger range of machines for Pokémon. Some were extremely innovative. There was a wall in which the Pokémon could pit their strength against a machine – great for increasing muscle power in the whole body.

There was a complicated structure consisting of parallel bars and a mixture of ropes and rigs hanging down at widely spaced intervals. A Pokémon had to swing from one side to the other using only its arms. That improved dexterity, agility and upper body strength. Very near to the centre was an enormous assault course.

It was over five kilometres in length - a mixture of underground, water and aerial courses that tested a Pokémon to its limit - and created a large ring around the central complex of apartments, restaurants, shops, hospitals and, of course, the battle rings.

Jack did not progress far into the central complex. As the huge sprawling mass of log cabins came into view his limo stopped and the door was opened. The apartment complex was a mixture of one and two stories and built out of roughly cut logs kept together by thick steel poles stabbed through each log and deep into the soil. The largest and most extravagant cabin was labelled number "one" in elaborate calligraphy.

Every cabin subsequent to the first became slightly smaller and less expensive until you reached cabin number "twenty-one" which signalled the beginning of the shared apartments that housed the weaker trainers and the staff. As Jack was led towards apartment "thirteen" Indigo seemed to materialise in the shadows beside him.

'Are the apartments to your liking?' asked the man inquisitively, looking appreciatively at the mass of cabins. 'I should hope so anyway,' he stated, cutting off Jack from replying, 'it cost my ten million pounds to have it built.' Chuckling Indigo opened the door.

The inside of the apartment was on a whole new level of comfort that Jack had never seen before. The kitchen was filled with brand-new stainless steel appliances. Incredibly comfortable sofas were positioned in front of the forty inch plasma TV. A huge holographic projector connecting to the newest battle simulator dominated the games room, which also featured a table tennis table and a pool table as well as enormous bean bags which were impossible to rise from once you've made the mistake of seating yourself upon them.

The bedroom was incredibly comfortable with a ridiculously large feather bed and another wall-mounted plasma TV – though this one was only thirty-two inches. A power shower and massage-bath was the crowning glory of the colourfully tiled _en suite_ bathroom.

Jack's favourite object in the whole cabin was none of these things. It was the quaint wooden balcony with stunning views over the forest that Jack favoured. As soon as he sat down upon the intricately carved rocking chair he could feel himself become at home here.

It was a thought that scared him thoroughly, knowing that Indigo was completely insane.

Whilst Jack explored the house Indigo was chattering inanely next to him. Suddenly Indigo said something that caught Jack's attention. 'I think I'll ask one of the more experienced trainers here to show you around. She will help you train by showing you the ropes with all the unfamiliar equipment as well as introducing you to other trainers that will help you improve.'

He whipped out a mobile phone from his pocket and quickly dialled in the numbers on the sleek, black appliance. Lowering his voice Indigo uttered a few words that Jack couldn't quite make out before closing his phone with an abrupt snap. Your guide will be here shortly Jack. You can have a tinker with all the machines and games if you want.'

Jack nodded and headed immediately for the battle simulator – something that he had always wanted to own, but was always denied by his parents.

He chose Pokémon from other regions that he had no experience with to test his skill. A Tyranitar, a Metagross, a Salamence, a Slaking, an Absol and a Luxray all seemed competent Pokémon to him so he assembled his team as such. He immediately chose a random opponent and began to fight. He marvelled at the quality of the graphics, which were so realistic that the battle could have been real.

As he battled he found that the Tyranitar, Metagross and Salamence were ridiculously powerful in battle. They each easily steamrollered their opponents at the gentle urging of Jack. He also found from the power gauge at the side of the screen that the Slaking was in fact the most powerful. If it wasn't for its lazy mindset it would be unbelievably powerful, almost legendarily powerful. Jack immediately recognised a tactic that could be used to full effect with the Slaking and was just filing the knowledge away when his game was interrupted by Indigo.

Jack sighed as he turned off the simulator and turned to face Indigo and his strange goggles.

'Your guide has arrived Jack. This trainer is an extremely skilful and innovative battler with powerful Pokémon, though they're not on the same level as yours.' He gestured patiently to the door. 'Come in Lelana.'


	21. Golem

_Someone up there really hates me _thought Jack as Lelana stood there, staring daggers at him. Small fires smouldered in her two sky blue eyes whenever her gaze rested on Jack. The boy could feel the force of her anger almost physically as she barely managed to restrain herself from hitting him. As oblivious as usual Indigo smiled at the two trainers benignly.

'I think you will get along well. Lelana, could you please give Jack a tour and introduce him to some of the other trainers?' Lelana gave a short, sharp nod and Indigo left the room, whistling happily at the awkward situation he had plunged the two trainers into. He allowed himself a wicked smile once he had exited the door.

As soon as the man exited Lelana dealt Jack a tremendously powerful slap. Jack rocked backwards from the force, reflexively moving his hand to feel gingerly at his cheek. 'Ah... shit!' he exclaimed angrily, 'what was that for?' Lelana repeated his sentence in a high, mocking voice before venting her anger once more. 'What was that for? WHAT WAS THAT FOR?' She screamed, clenching her fists so hard that her nails drew blood. 'What do you think that was for?'

Her eyes blazed and Jack took a small step backwards. 'That was for leaving me to die.' When she finally said it her voice was flat, deadpan. Jack baulked at the phrase before vigorously defending himself. 'Bollocks. You're blaming me for this?' He masked his self-loathing with anger directed outwards.

'I did everything I could to help you. All my Pokémon were out cold and the entrance was blocked by tonnes of rocks. What could I do?! I'm not superhuman. It was _your _fault for being too slow!' Another ringing slap greeted the last accusation. 'My fault?' Lelana's voice rose in both pitch and volume. 'How dare you!' Her voice cracked as she struggled to force out the words, such was her anger now.

She brought up her fists and launched a clumsy punch towards Jack's face. The boy easily side-stepped, but did not retaliate. Lelana span around again, panting hard, preparing to launch another attack. Jack caught her fist in front of his face and held it there. However much the girl strained she could not move forwards or backwards. After an age Jack let the fist go and Lelana dismissively turned her back.

He did not see an idea light up in her eyes on the savage smile that suddenly appeared on her face.

'I will not fight you,' she said quietly, suddenly and surprisingly calm. 'You're not worth my time. I will defeat you easily.' Jack raised his eyebrows at the blatant baiting but said nothing. 'I know someone who I can beat quite easily, but who will completely destroy you.' Jack's eyebrows almost disappeared above his hairline. 'Really?' he muttered, doubt heavy in his voice, 'I would like to meet this trainer then.'

Lelana suppressed a giggle as she led Jack out of his cabin. She navigated her way through the Village easily and led Jack towards the outskirts where a man was working out. 'Brandon,' Lelana called, 'I have a challenger for you.' Brandon squeezed out one last rep before letting the weights drop and walking towards the two trainers. His body was tough and sinewy and he wore a dark green overcoat.

'A challenger,' he repeated slowly, rolling the words around in his mouth as if they were unfamiliar, 'I haven't had one of those in a _long _time.' The man magically produced three Pokéballs from his back, one shiny gray and made of steel, one a clear blue that could have been glass or ice and one a rugged brown that looked like it had been hewn from stone.

Brandon walked a small distance from the gym before turning to face Jack. 'Are you ready to lose?' he asked confidently, 'because I'm certainly not.'

As a reply Jack released Harry. Brandon winced, 'wrong choice for you,' he said sadly, shaking his head, 'a very bad choice.' Jack gritted his teeth, 'we'll see.' His Pokémon was completely new to Jack. In fact he had never seen anything remotely like it.

It was very vaguely humanoid with an almost transparent body made out of some type of crystal. Its body was roughly rectangular, though it tapered off into a point near the top, its arms were thick blocks the same crystal – similar in shape to its body, though smaller – and were crowned by three fingers, its legs were simply sharp edged cones and circular gems set into its skin in a cross formation seemed to be its eyes. It moved in a skating motion along a sheet of ice that formed beneath its feet.

Even though it was several metres away Jack could feel the coldness emanating off it. It seemed to be surrounded by a freezing wind that wreathed its body in a swirling cloak. _Use psychic _thought Jack and Harry immediately complied. His eyes burnt purple as he swiped his hand through the air.

The creature rocked backwards, barely even scratched. Harry attacked again, aiming to crush it this time, and nothing seemed to happen. The creature shivered before brushing off the attack and rising to its full six feet. 'Regice,' ordered Brandon suddenly, 'icy wind.'

Regice answered with a cryptic series of beeps before assaulting Harry with a freezing wind. The grass crackled, froze and shattered as the wind swirled towards Harry leaving a swathe of crystallised grass behind it. Harry quickly created a barrier which was covered by a small coating of ice. 'Regice smashed the barrier,' called Brandon and his Pokémon obliged.

It thrust a powerful fist into the barrier, easily shattering it. _Harry use barrier again then use confuse ray _ordered Jack, trying to stay calm and positive. Regice was once again impeded by a psychic barrier as Harry cart-wheeled away. He released a faint, purplish ray that latched on to the Regice before disappearing and attacked again at Jack's command.

The attack wasn't any more successful that its predecessors, but it didn't matter because the Regice was threatening to hurt itself. It began lurching around drunkenly, covering the ground in a thin sheet of ice. Out of the corner of its eye it thought it saw Harry creeping towards it and it launched a powerful punch in the direction it perceived its opponent to be. Its punch was wild and it caught itself a glancing blow to the temple.

The creature staggered even more and collapsed to the ground. Though it wasn't hurt it was very confused and unable to form coherent thought. As quickly as it had descended, the fog of confusion lifted and the Regice immediately rose. _Block all the attacks with a barrier and bombard it with weaker attacks _bid Jack silently as Brandon also instructed his Pokémon. 'Regice use ice beam.' Harry could barely form a barrier before the beam of ice hit his shield.

The shield was immediately frozen by the touch of the beam and shattered quickly afterwards by its force. As the Regice skated closer Harry attacked it again and again, but Pokémon was too tough. 'Now Regice, use superpower!' order Brandon excitedly. The amount of energy released was incredible. So was the speed it was released.

Harry did not even have time to raise a barrier before the wave engulfed him and his bones were shattered. He was a frail Pokémon and an attack with any force could easily knock him out. The attack faded, leaving a large circle of scorched ground and a very battered, almost mashed Pokémon in its wake. Jack bit his tongue angrily as he recalled his fallen Pokémon, sending hurt looks to the giggling Lelana.

She had never beaten this trainer. He was too powerful. Jack felt a bitter taste in his mouth as he realised he had been tricked.

He released Asrael petulantly, knowing that this Pokémon was too powerful for the dragon to defeat, especially with its weakness. Brandon lectured him again. 'Another bad decision. You know that this Pokémon has even less of a chance of winning than your last.' Jack clenched his jaw and ignored the older trainer; instead he barked an order to his Pokémon.

'Asrael use dragon rush.' The smooth orbs set into the dragon's skin began to glow as he built up power to attack. Slowly his skin began to light up, as if a powerful light within was struggling to escape. It was inevitable that Brandon would ruin things again. He looked Jack straight in the eye as he passed the order. 'Regice use blizzard.' Jack's eyes widened as he urged his Pokémon to hurry up.

Very quickly Asrael was filled with as much power as he could control and he shot towards Regice. Regice raised its arms to the heavens as the dragon raced towards it. The drop in temperature was noticeable to Jack, and he was standing a lot further away than Asrael. An incredibly powerful wind buffeted the dragon to the floor. Suddenly snow began to fall heavily from the sky and it was whipped up into a vicious snowstorm by the wildly twisting winds.

The winds, carrying small particles of ice with them, scoured Asrael like sandpaper, slowly and painfully ripping the scales off his body. Soon his body was covered in red rashes and slowly leaking blood from angry looking wounds. Then Regice increased the power of the attack and the temperature dropped to unimaginably cold temperatures. Asrael was immediately frozen solid, his blood slowly turning to ice as the temperature plummeted more and more.

After what seemed like a very, _very _long time the blizzard abated leaving Asrael but a frozen, tortured ice sculpture on the floor. One more defeat. Jack released his last Pokémon, Dante, knowing that this one would at least have a small chance of rescuing his honour. Immediately Regice attacked having been given orders by Brandon in the small pause between Pokémon.

Its ice wreathed fist smashed into Dante, driving his legs deep into the ground and nearly knocking him out immediately. Dante struggled to rip his feet from the ground before finally managing it, heaving great clods of dirt with him. He looked unsteady for a second before he attacked with flame. Almost contemptuously Regice met the flame with ice and for a second the two attacks mingled. Then the flame withered under the assault from the ice and Dante was struck on his shoulder.

He roared with pain as he fought to keep conscious and suddenly his whole body glowed red. It was an inner light rather than an emanation like evolution and there was no change in Dante's body. However Dante did seem to regain strength and energy and he looked raring to fight when the glowing abated. He attacked with flame for the second time and all hell broke loose.

The inferno that he released was far stronger than anything Jack had ever seen. Though he was metres away he could feel the heat blistering his voice. He was actually forced to step backwards and shield his face from the onslaught, such was the overwhelming heat. Regice threw all its energy into matching the attack with an ice beam that dwarfed its last effort.

But it wasn't match for the inferno Dante had unleashed and steam exploded into the air as the ice sublimated into gas, bypassing the liquid stage altogether. When the fire reached Regice it raged around the creature. Jack could see it begin to melt and, though it was hurt, it was by no means defeated.

Dante's body erupted into flame as it smashed into Regice with a flaming tackle. Regice rolled with the attack and launched an icy punch at Dante's behind. Dante almost tripped because of the punch but he managed to precariously keep his balance and skid around the icy floor for another attack. He looked down at the troublesome ice and increased his body temperature.

Immediately the ice melted and lukewarm meltwater pooled around his feet instead of hindering ice. A pillar of flame erupted from his mouth from the third time and somehow he surpassed his previous efforts. This attack caused both Brandon and Jack to fall to the floor, pressing their faces against the icy ground to sooth the sudden, burning heat that afflicted them.

Regice, caught in the centre of the inferno, was not able to sooth itself. Slowly its body began to melt in the unrelenting heat, though it was not fast enough for Dante. As Regice was blinded by the fire he hit the creature with a devastating punch. It was that, not the heat, which finished it. Weakened and dazed, it had no time even to brace itself and unconsciousness overtook it immediately.

Brandon recalls his Pokémon regretfully, but for some reason he was not shocked by the outcome. 'I knew from the moment you released that Pokémon this would be difficult,' he said at length, 'I just didn't know that your Pokémon would come into its powers during our battle.' At Jack's very confused look he elaborated.

save their life, others to save the life of a trainer, and become much more powerful than ordinary Pokémon. They still can be beaten, but even the most powerful, well trained Pokémon have extreme difficulty leaving a mark. Winning is even harder. That's what happened to your Pokémon, a....Heatran, is it?' Jack nodded silently as he examined what he had been told. It made sense....sort of.

'Let's see if your Heatran can stand up to Registeel!' shouted Brandon, his eyes alight with the thrill of battle. The will to fight had not left man since they started settling their disputes with Pokémon, rather they learnt to channel their lust for battle through their Pokémon and delight in it as if they were the ones dealing the blows.

Registeel was even larger than Regice and looked like a headless human, though an oddly proportioned one with its thin, three fingered hands, thick, stubby legs and the circular, silver nubs that served as its shoulders. The two legendary Pokémon circled each other for a full minute in a strange, pre-match ritual. Then, with an unspoken signal, both of the Pokémon attacked.

They crashed into each other hard and Dante's superior weight again was a telling factor as he knocked Registeel to the ground. With flaming claws Dante aimed to rip his way through the Golem, however he found its metallic skin impervious to the attacks. From the way it shook with the blows Jack could see that the Pokémon felt the force of the attacks and was bruised, however its skin wasn't broken through its sheer toughness.

Registeel threw Dante heavily to the ground and launched wide, swinging punches onto Dante's torso. The lava dome Pokémon took the attacks easily and replied with a blistering pillar of flame as suggested by Jack. Registeel staggered backwards under the onslaught of flame but managed to sidestep out and launch an attack of its own. 'Registeel use lock on,' ordered Brandon as the red gems that served as its eyes fixed themselves upon Dante.

'You know what to do now,' said Brandon enigmatically. Registeel nodded to itself before raising its hand and shooting a barrage of electrical bundles towards Dante. Dante dodged out of the way, but the attacks followed him and smashed into his body. As the electricity shocked through his body Dante's muscles were wracked by spasms as paralysis over took him.

'Now use iron head,' shouted Brandon excitedly. Regirock smashed its metal coated skull straight into Dante's stomach, shoving him onto his back. Whilst Dante lay there on his back like a beached whale, unable to fight back, Registeel unleashed a huge explosion of power that Jack recognised as the "superpower" technique.

Dante was battered by the attack but it managed to jolt him out of his paralysis. 'Dante finish this with flame wheel,' commanded Jack loudly. Before he had even finished speaking Dante surged towards Registeel, his body erupting in flame. He hit the creature with a flaming tackle and knocked it to the ground. Crushing the Golem with its weight Dante began to claw wildly at its previously impenetrable skin.

Finally Jack managed to at least leave a mark on the creature's skin as the metal was dented by Dante's sharp claws, though it still seemed impossible to penetrate. Registeel was injured from Dante's assault but it definitely wasn't out of the battle. It managed to smash a violent punch into Dante's face, a punch with so much force that the Pokémon went limp immediately as he almost lost consciousness.

Registeel was able to heave the dead weight of Dante off him before the fire Pokémon managed to shake off the punch and finish the match with a brand new attack. A wave of fire seemed to explode out of Dante's body with so much heat that Registeel's metal coat began to bubble and run.

As the wave of fire surrounded it Registeel was burnt and burnt. It let out a scramble of electronic beeps that somehow managed to convey the torturous pain it was feeling before unconsciousness claimed Brandon's second legendary golem. 'You have fought well,' smiled Brandon, 'but I will have to end this with Regirock.'

Regirock was a rock golem with a body made up of cream and brown angular boulders and huge, long arms that swung near to the ground as it moved. It shoulders were huge boulders jutting sharply and roughly towards its northern end. Dante looked decidedly more beat up than its fresher opponent as it marshalled its energy to try and conquer the third Golem.

Immediately it was clear that Regirock had the upper hand. Its huge arms and shoulders put enormous force behind each punch and very quickly Dante was looking like a battered wreck. He did not have the strength to land any considerable hit on his opponent and his flame attacks seemed to have no effect on the hardy rock that made up its body.

Finally it put the heavily limping Dante out of his misery with a crushing punch that almost cracked the steel plates which protected Dante's skull. Sprawling on the floor Dante finally succumbed to unconsciousness as the will to fight left him. Jack's visage was thundery as he recalled his final Pokémon, surrendering the match to his opponent.

'Well won,' he said sulkily, shaking Brandon's hand for only the briefest of moment before returning them to his pockets. After an uncomfortable silence Jack finally congratulated the victor as he deserved. 'I agree with my Pokémon,' he said suddenly, 'you truly are the most powerful trainer I have ever seen.' Brandon's face was clouded by a frown.

'What do you mean you agree with your Pokémon?' he said sharply, 'you can understand them?' Jack's ignorance was such that he did not realise that there was anything abnormal about talking to Pokémon. 'Of course,' he replied, 'can't everyone?'

Brandon's mouth fell open as shock ran over him in waves. 'No wonder you're so powerful,' he said, almost muttering, 'no wonder.'

His gaze rose up from the ground as he shot an intense look Jack's way. 'Do not tell anyone about this,' he said, his urgency clear. He turned his gaze to Lelana who looked even more shocked than he had. 'You too Lelana. I know you two have past troubles, but it is imperative that this knowledge doesn't leave the three of us. We cannot let it be exploited.'

Both Lelana and Jack nodded their assent, though both of them didn't really understand _how _it could be manipulated. They were so young and naїve, they couldn't possibly understand the evils which a few twisted people could think up in their sadistic minds. Even Brandon didn't quite realise the consequences of a lazy eavesdrop on that particular conversation. It didn't matter. Very soon they would experience the consequences.

A shadowy presence hovered undetectably above them taking in every word for its master.

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**Author Notes: The Battle Frontier has not yet been created, that is why Brandon is not a Pyramid King here. Just thought you should know before anyone bugs me over it.**


	22. Mirage Of Thunder

**Author Notes: Sorry if there are any mistakes in this chapter, I have been really pressed for time to publish it by the way and I didn't have any time to read it through. Hope you enjoy it though. As always, please review.**

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Jack trained hard after his match with Brandon to prepare for a rematch that he was adamant that he would win. After capturing the newly hatched Kitane Jack had not even spared her a thought as he explored the Village. He found as he trained her that non-legendary Pokémon matured very, very quickly and within a month she was fully grown. When she was barely hatched Jack's training of her had been gentle.

He focussed more on building up the bond between them than training Kitane physically and the two became very close. Jack even found that he was beginning to edge closer to her than to Dante, his first companion. It did help that he had hatched her from the egg and that they had built a subconscious relationship before she even hatched – continuing and developing this as they trained seemed so natural and so right.

Jack began to realise that their communication might have been the telepathic bond that Indigo had talked about. Kitane knew what Jack wanted her to do before he even formed the thought in his mind sometimes, and that made them a very dangerous pair.

As she began to mature she began to develop psychic powers. They were not nearly as powerful as Harry, however she used them effectively to help her in battle. Sometimes she would scramble her enemies mind – a little confusion to swing her battle in the favour – or sometimes she would use it to put some extra power behind her blows.

For her it was more like a tool to help her rather than her main method of fighting. That was manipulation of water, something that she excelled at above all else. Ever since she matured to the adolescent stage Jack had her training on the lake with other water specialists. The tricks that she picked up from the other water Pokémon where endlessly useful and effective, though they were nowhere near as powerful as the tricks she learnt naturally, and, most importantly, so easy and natural for her.

As she matured she began to socialise more with Jack's other Pokémon. Harry shared tactic with her, though it was as much to his gain as to hers, and Asrael also began to take a lot of interest. It was the dragon that Kitane really bonded with and by the end of a gruelling training session, just the two of them, she picked up some very unusual attacks which she would use very soon.

She had her first battle against the Gyarados of one of Indigo's other sponsors, a water specialist. Kitane had only ever trained before and Jack decided to plunge her into the deep end so she would experience what a real battle would be like. It may have not been the most considerate technique to use, however there was no denying by Kitane, or anyone else who watched the battle, that the technique was not effective.

The Lapras showed surprising strength as the Gyarados attacked her with vicious fangs and tried to constrict her within its muscle-bound coils. She wrestled with it, holding her own in the battle, and managed to repulse any physical attacks. Jack was also surprised to find that she was an extremely hardy creature.

She took all the blows and cuts with a pinch of salt and could also retreat into a very tough shell if the fight became overwhelming for her – not that she often needed to. Though the Gyarados may have been slightly stronger than her, and much more aggressive, it did not grasp the subtlety and intelligence that she displayed in a battle. Time and time again she out manoeuvred her more experienced foe.

It was one such manoeuvre that won her the battle. Whilst she was locked in a vicious struggle with the serpent, desperately fending it away, an idea came to her. She began to retreat faster and faster under the onslaught before submitting herself to the embrace of the cold, clear water and disappearing from view. The Gyarados did not hesitate to follow her, even though she was more in her element down there than it was.

for her speed quickly became apparent when the Gyarados surfaced, its huge jaws snapping voraciously, very close behind. As its head erupted from the water Kitane showed everyone that she had, in fact, lured it into a trap. Her body sparked erratically as she let loose a huge bolt of electricity towards the Gyarados. It was still exiting the water at this point and had no time to change its trajectory.

The electricity hit it directly in the face and fizzled through hits body and into the water. Kitane was still arcing gracefully through the air at this point and her arrogant wave acknowledged the applause from her trainer and her opponent's trainer, though the latter's applause was reluctant and only ceremonial. Her thirst for battle was well and truly awakened now.

After two months of training Jack decided to challenge Brandon for the second time. The Gold Conference was rapidly approaching and he decided that the battle would be fantastic practice for the battles to come. The man seemed ever so slightly amused that Jack had challenged him again and a condescending, smug grin plastered itself on his face.

'You think you can beat me the second time?' he asked cockily, his eyes dancing with amusement. Jack nodded shortly, 'I'm fairly confident,' he said slowly. Brandon smiled earnestly for the first time. 'Good. Most people aren't. That's what I like about you Jack, you're not short in confidence in yourself. If you want to do this, then let's go right now.'

He released his rock Golem, Regirock, its arms hanging so low that its rocky knuckles scraped the ground. Once again Jack plunged Kitane in at the deep end and released the young Pokémon opposite the legendary. All credit to her, she did not let the huge Golem intimidate her. She faced it off with a slightly suicidal air hanging above her head.

Regirock seemed oddly uneasy against facing Kitane and hung back, ignoring Brandon's calls to attack. It was soon reminded of its trainer's wisdom when Kitane finally attacked with circular pulses of water held in shape by the incredible velocity of their rotation. The blows obviously inflicted much more damage than Regirock expect and the Golem seemed to be oddly unsteady once the attack was over.

'Regirock, use stone edge,' ordered Brandon with confidence that seemed at odds to his creature's pained staggering. Regirock punched its fists through the floor and ripped out a huge rock ending in a wicked looking point. It charged towards Kitane, who seemed like a fish out of water as she struggled to drag herself out of the way with her front flippers.

Quickly realising that she would not be able to avoid the attack, Kitane retreated hastily into her shell so only her flippers were protruding outside the protective armour.

Regirock swung the sharp rock with great force against Kitane's shell, hurling the poor Lapras onto her back so her strongly muscle flippers waved helplessly in the air. Then it began to smash the sizeable chunk of granite repeatedly against the fallen creature, each blow accompanied by quiet mews of agony. Finally the Golem hit Kitane's shell with so much force that she was rolled back onto her front and immediately Jack took the chance to get it an order.

'Hydro pump now, Kitane,' he ordered Jack excitably, and probably a little desperately, as the six foot tall Golem twirling a four foot long granite chunk as if it weighed nothing stalked angrily towards her. The Lapras complied and she let loose a veritable torrent of water from her maw which was opened wider than Jack had ever seen it.

The highly pressurized water drove the Regirock backwards with such force that its left arm was ripped off from its shoulder and thrown far out of the battlefield. Regirock let out a cryptic scramble of pained beeps from the blow, however it did not seem too affected by the blow which would have crippled any other creature.

It plunged its remaining hands into the ground and began to rip out oddly shaped granite rocks from the ground. Then it began to assimilate them into its body. It was a strange sight. Its shoulder seemed to warp like wet clay before remoulding into the shape of the rocks it had recently claimed. Soon its arm had been restored and the creature looked more angry than anything else.

'Kitane, use hydro pump once more,' commanded Jack insistently as Brandon also barked out an order. 'Zap cannon now.' The timing could not have been better from the man in the overcoat. The small bundles of electricity that crackled in the rock Golem's palm were attracted to the water building up in Kitane's maw and they hit with devastating effect.

Jack remembered what concentrated electricity had done to Misty's water Pokémon and prayed that the effect would not be as bad today. Kitane began to convulse as the electricity sent twisting signals to her muscles and she could feel her skin began to dry and crack as the electricity arcing across her body left agonising burns in their wake.

Soon the sheer amount of electricity overwhelmed her and she dropped unconscious. The only satisfaction that Jack could take was that reassembling its arm seemed to really tire Regirock and that it may be vulnerable to a quick sucker punch.

With that very tactic in mind he released Kabi. The Snorlax was impatient and cooped up from not being used to battle in so long so her energy that she took to the battle was astounding for any Pokémon, but for the a Snorlax it was truly monstrous. Even Brandon seemed taken aback by the powerful creature's energy. A Snorlax was physically an immensely strong specimen and had always been held back by its laziness.

Take this away and the Pokémon gains considerable power and becomes an almost unrivalled brawler. Immediately Kabi tackled the Regirock to the ground with a blubber covered shoulder to its rocky torso. The creature went down as if it had been felled by an avalanche and let out groaning beeps as Kabi's full way crushed it into the floor.

Already her fist was crackling with energy and she brought it down with incredible force onto the H-shaped formation of Regirock's gem-like eyes. The creature's body convulsed reflexively once before it sank into unconsciousness. Kabi heaved herself of the fallen Golem and stared at Brandon with bloodshot eyes that betrayed the berserker fury descending upon her.

Brandon pursed his laps as he released Registeel, the metallic Golem. Though it was the largest of the Golems, it was still dwarfed by the mountainous tower of muscle and fat that was Kabi. Jack could tell immediately that this battle would be decided by physical strength, however he truly did not know which of the two Pokémon were stronger. By the worried look on Brandon's face Jack could tell that he didn't know either.

Kabi attacked first with a slow, powerful punch to Registeel's body. The steel Pokémon rolled with the punch and answered the attack by raking its claws down Kabi's face. The Snorlax growled in anger and attacked viciously. She completely ignored all of the commands that Jack shouted towards her and her fighting became more and more scrappy and ill though out. Registeel on the other hand was in constant communication with his trainer. Brandon ordered nearly every attack and began to easily outmanoeuvre Kabi.

'Registeel use ancientpower,' ordered Brandon smugly, giving off the air that he thought the battle was going to end very soon. _And he is probably right _thought Jack, who had become a spectator due to his commands falling on deaf ears, his demeanour glum.

The outpouring of energy sent Kabi sprawling to the floor and Registeel towered over her and Brandon opened his mouth to give the final order – or what he thought would be the final order. Kabi, however, was having none of it. She slugged Registeel in the face with a powerful fist, following the attack up with a crushing headbut powered by her thickly muscled neck.

As Registeel staggered backwards she completed the reversal of fortunes by deftly hooking its legs out from under it. Something that Jack had suggested to her less than thirty seconds ago. Jack clenched his fists in triumph and mockingly waved dismissively at Brandon. The man was as cool as ever as he engineered another plan.

'Registeel, flash cannon.' _Flash cannon _thought Jack consideringly _I don't know what that is. Maybe it's a stunning move like-_ His thoughts were cut off as a bright flash of white light flooded his vision. The trainer instinctively brought his hands to his eyes and began rubbing madly to remove the flickering spots of light that twinkled in front of his vision, before finally removing them and blinking madly so he could survey the battlefield.

The attack had obvious taken Kabi by surprise, but more than that, it had left a vicious looking burn directly on her stomach. The Pokémon's position had been reversed for the second time and once again it was Kabi lying on the floor and Registeel towering over her. 'Kabi, use flamethrower,' called Jack desperately, just before Brandon directed Registeel to attack with the dangerous "superpower."

The flickering tunnel of flame licked ravenously at Registeel at the same moment it released its pent up energy. Kabi was pushed backwards along the floor a good couple of metres as her skin began to bruise and ripple at the force. Inside the protective layer of blubber small cracks began to shoot along two rib bones, causing yet more pain to overload Kabi's brain.

Despite the power of the attack she was still in the battle. Gritting her flat teeth together she ignored the nagging multitude of pain threatening to overwhelm her and rose unsteadily to her feet. Registeel was also looking weak. The flame attack had covered the left part of its torso and its left arm and shoulder in a thin layer of soot and Kabi's punches had done their work.

The Snorlax managed to get in one more punch to try and fell Registeel. It was a good one as well. Her whole weight was behind it and it hit the Golem directly in the centre of its torso. Registeel beeped loudly in pain as it staggered backwards from the blow, but it endured and ended it at one command. 'Hyper Beam.'

Even Registeel looked at its trainer questioningly at that order, knowing how tired and weak it would leave him. Brandon was unrepentant, but Jack allowed a small smile to grace his face as he knew he had got to the trainer. He had thought the power would have been over by now and he was shaken by Kabi's durability, so overcompensated by ordering the most powerful attack in Registeel's arsenal.

The thick beam of energy hit Kabi with nearly twice as much power than the "superpower" attack, leaving Kabi no chance to cling to consciousness. The second the beam barrelled into her head she was unconscious, her face erupting bloodily as cuts opened on her face and the small nub of cartilage that served as its nose shattering messily.

Other the vicious execution of his Pokémon Jack was in a mood for vengeance, so when he released Dante he pressed the Pokémon to be aggressive. 'Fire blast first,' he ordered firmly, 'then follow it up with flame wheel.' Registeel could barely stand with the exhaustion pressing down on it, let alone move out of the way of the huge pillar of flame. The flame hit the creature viciously and sparked all around it, nearly knocking it to the ground.

The left side of Registeel's body which had previously been the target of Kabi's flamethrower began to run slowly. As the heat increased it became less viscous, though it still flowed more slowly than the thickest honey. The bleeps that Registeel uttered somehow managed to combine into a wailing scream that didn't abate even when the attack finished.

The creature was barely conscious and badly injured, however Dante carried out his orders and scattered it to the floor with a flaming tackle. Dante picked himself up from the unconscious body of his opponent, shaking his body like a wet dog and striking the flaw with a steel clawed foot triumphantly.

Brandon had managed to regain his composure by the time he reached Regice and the smug smile had once again regained its rightful position in his face. 'Curse,' he said softly, leaving Jack in confusion. 'You'll see,' he said enigmatically, smiling. It was not a smile that Jack liked. Regice was suddenly wreathed in a grey aura unlike anything that Jack had ever seen. It was not an aura of darkness or shadow, but neither was it an aura of light.

It may have been somewhere in between, or it could have been something completely different. The aura gave no sign of abating as Jack and Dante watched Regice interestedly for a whole minute. 'Bad move,' said Brandon happily, 'you should have attacked when you had the chance.' Jack turned to face him. 'Why should have I done that, eh?' he asked. Brandon's smile was even worse than the one before. 'You'll see,' he said. 'OK,' said Jack slowly, 'then we'll just have to see, won't we? Dante use flame wheel.'

Dante's shoulder crunched into Regice's stomach with some force. The Golem didn't even move, in fact it didn't give any sign of even being affected by the attack. Dante retreated like a wounded animal, his shoulder dislocated from the contact with the unyielding creature. Brandon laughed out loud. 'That's the first surprise in store for you.'

Obeying Jack's orders once more, Dante aimed a powerful punch at Regice's body. He screamed in frustration as his fist met an immovable object and the shock juddered harshly up his arm. 'Regice use hammer arm,' said Brandon quietly, his voice threatening to erupt into laughter at any moment. Regice moved extremely slowly and ponderously as it carried out the order, but it still managed to catch Dante a full on blow on his shoulder.

Dante's reaction was ridiculously exaggerated; it was as if he had been hit by a two hundred mile an hour steam train. He was thrown through the air like a twig caught in a current and landed ten metres from where he had started. His bellow of pain echoed through the air as he clutched vainly at his shattered shoulder and arm. 'Surprise number two,' said Brandon smugly.

'Finish this with ice beam,' said Brandon with an edge of finality. Again Regice moved very slowly and ponderously, however Dante was too busy writhing with pain on the floor. Jack was clenching his fists as he realised that he would lose again. 'Fuck you,' he said angrily to Brandon, recalling Dante in an act of surrender.

'Fuck you. I _will _beat you one day.' His voice was thick with anger and shame. Brandon nodded graciously. 'Don't be hard on yourself. I am the reigning Gold Conference Champion you know.' Jack's eyes boggled at that news. 'Makes you feel a bit better about yourself, eh?' asked Brandon. Jack could only nod dumbly. 'You fought well. You're team is almost the complete team. All you need is an electric Pokémon, then you will have all the bases covered.'

Jack nodded. 'Don't worry about it Jack. You will go far.' Brandon was trying his best not to be condescending, and failing. Jack didn't even try to not be arrogant. 'I know I will go far,' he replied.

With the seed of an electric Pokémon planted in his mind Jack asks Indigo if he can leave to go searching in the place with most electric Pokémon in the whole of Kanto, the abandoned power plant outside Cerulean. To his delight Indigo agreed enthusiastically and introduced Jack to a teenager trainer, not much older than Jack himself.

'Falkner will fly you to the power plant and pick you up when you're finished.' Falkner clapped Jack on the shoulder once Indigo had gone and steered him outside. 'As old Indigo says,' Falkner drawled, 'I'm Falkner, the former Violet City Gym Leader. There was a little unpleasantness and I was forced to resign, but I won't say anything else on the matter.' He carried on chatting inanely in a strong Johto drawl until they reached a large clearing in the trees. Falkner looked around appreciatively before releasing two bird Pokémon. 'We'll be travelling on my two beauties,' Falkner cooed, his voice full of pride.

Falkner jumped onto the back of his huge Fearow, its wingspan frighteningly large, and motioned for Jack to take a seat on his Pidgeot. Both of the birds rose easily into the air despite the weight balancing on their backs and soared gracefully in the warm grasp of the thermals. They travelled just under the clouds for nearly an hour, cutting among the whirling flocks of Pidgey that congregated high in the sky.

The power plant sat out among the majestic beauty of the surrounding mountains like a sore blister, a fallen steel monster squatting hideously among untouched nature. Falkner radiated distaste as he circled his Pokémon in to land, shooting disgusted looks at the hulking monster. Falkner kept his distance, refusing to enter with Jack.

'I'm not entering that death trap buddy,' he drawled whilst stealing nervous glances at the building, 'all that electricity isn't good for my health.' Jack nodded, understanding about a bird trainer's veritable hatred of the damning electricity. 'I won't hold it against you,' he called as he walked through the entrance.

Jack released Dante and Asrael as he entered, choosing them for their resistance to electricity. He walked through the relatively untouched outer corridors, searching for an especially powerful electric Pokémon amongst the sterilised metal corridors. Electric Pokémon were not cowards, Jack found that almost immediately.

He lost count of the number of times he got attacked within fifteen minutes, however they were mostly weak and were defeated by either Dante or Asrael without any trouble. A host of Pikachu, Magnemite and Voltorb seem quite desperate to stop Jack from progressing further into the power plant, however all of their efforts met with failure at the hands of Dante and Asrael.

The two Pokémon seemed to develop even more resistance to electricity as they progressed further, shocks that would previously hurt them causing very little harm to them after the first hour.

As Jack walked through the increasingly run down corridors he noticed that the Pokémon, not scarce before, became more and more common _and _more and more powerful. After some heavy battling through corridors scarred with burns they reached huge metal doors to the generator room, or what remained of the doors. The fifty centimetre thick doors had been ripped apart by an unbelievable force and Jack could see erratically flickering flashes of white-blue electricity through the sizeable hole.

Before they could enter, however, they would have to get through two brawny Electivire that guarded the entrance. The two combined with one powerful thunderbolt attack that coursed through Asrael's long body.

The dragon Pokémon couldn't deal with the combined power of all the electricity and dropped to the floor, unconscious, in a smoking heap. Dante rushed to his companion's aid, dropping one of the Electivire with a thick pillar of flame and clubbing the other one to the floor with a huge punch.

Jack quickly revived the fallen Dragonair with a handy max revive before entering the chamber in the middle of both his Pokémon. Dante led the way in with the groggy Asrael bringing up the rear as they entered into the centre of chaos. The room was completely trashed, huge burn marks pitted all of the walls and an unstable generator still sparked at the centre.

All of the glass protecting at the core had been smashed and a very recognisable Pokémon perched lightly as electricity sparked around it. A huge yellow bird boasting impressive, spiky yellow plumage and a large cylindrical beak. The Mirage of Thunder. Zapdos. Jack almost salivated at this chance.

he most powerful electrical Pokémon in the world was just perching there, ready to be captured and added to his team. He did not hesitate.

'Bring it down,' ordered Jack quietly, however the Mirage of Thunder heard him and turned its beady eyes towards the attacking Pokémon. Its thunderbolt attack was ridiculously powerful. The netting of thunder engulfed both of the Pokémon and still had the power to drop Asrael in one attack. Dante was more hardy and shrugged off the attack, reply with a powerful headbut to Zapdos' torso.

As Zapdos gasped, winded, Dante unleashed a wave of flame towards its fellow legendary. Zapdos screeched and retaliating by stabbing its beak deep into Dante's shoulder. Dante 's roar far surpassed Zapdos' scream in loudness and liquid fire began to squirt from the wound as the injured Pokémon tossed Zapdos from it. The Mirage used the momentum of the toss to try and launch its way into the air, electricity crackling loudly with each beat of its magnificent wings.

Dante somehow found the strength to leap into the air and clamp down on Zapdos' left wing with his teeth. Zapdos let out another tortured screech as it was dragged down to fight in close combat, something that it obviously wasn't comfortable with. That does not mean it wasn't good at it. Zapdos attacked like a creature possessed in a fury of jabbing beaks and steel coated wings.

Dante actually felt himself get driven back as he struggled to fend off the multitude of blows that were now raining down on him. As they fought Jack remember a present given to him by a girl called Kayla. Though it was only a couple of months ago it seemed like that it was an event from another life.

He remembered he had shrunk it, using a special feature being developed just for the Master Ball, and hid it in a special pocket in his bag. He rummaged through the bag that he had somehow managed to keep through all that had happened to him and found the small ball. His movements were slow and surreptitious as he enlarged the ball.

Zapdos was paying no attention to him as Dante picked up his pace and began to drive it back instead. With one powerful punch Dante knocked the Pokémon back and there was over one metre of air between them. Jack took advantage of this and he threw the Master Ball at Zapdos, who was still looking the other way. It turned and saw the Master Ball, but it was too late.

The ball opened and drew in the legendary creature with immense force. Inescapable force. The ball didn't even shake. For a second it just sat on the ground, completely still, before finally it lit up, signifying that the Pokémon inside had been successfully captured. Jack could hardly believe it as he handled the Pokéball. Not only was his team finally complete, but he had done something only a very few of the best trainers in all of the regions had done.

He had caught a legendary.


	23. Completion

Ever since he was first introduced to the training village Jack had been awaiting the call from Indigo that would tell him the time was right for him to complete his collection of badges. Months later, with the Gold Conference looming in the not so distant future, Jack finally got the call. It was short and concise, like most conversations with Indigo.

'Koga is here,' said the man simply. 'Can you arrive at the centre of the Village in an hour?' Jack voiced his assent and the phone line went dead. Indigo wasn't really a phone person.

The teenager gathered his Pokéballs and made his complicated route to the central complex, a route which he could now walk with his eyes closed. Indigo was waiting for him at the entrance. 'Hi Jack, thought I'd forgotten about this, eh?' he asked jovially, steering Jack through the doors. 'Well, I haven't. It just took a bit of organising.'

He lapsed into silence, still steering Jack into the very depths of the central complex that he had never visited before. 'All your battles will be three vs. three and the gym leaders will use their actual team, not their gym team.' _Shit _thought Jack _that's not fair_. Indigo laughed at the look on his face.

'Don't worry, to actually get the badge you only need to defeat one of their Pokémon. Try and make it a challenge though!' Jack feigned anger. 'How dare you. I think I'll give him a challenge to remember.'

'Really?' Koga melted from the wall, appearing as if from nowhere. He looked Jack up and down. 'We will see.' The man moved as if he was gliding, effortless but at the same time conservative. Every so often he would melt into the wall, seemingly able to become invisible at will.

Jack had never seen the arena they were fighting in before. It was a lot larger than the practice arenas, but also simpler. There were two platforms for the trainer and a large circle chalked in the ground. That was it. As the trainers faced each other in the shadowy half-light the unlit arena was suddenly illuminated by a soft light that banished the shadows completely.

'You ready for me ninja?' asked Jack tauntingly as he tried to gauge Koga's personality. The man was completely impassive. 'I'm ready for anything.' His voice was cold and deadpan. By the looks of him, there was nothing that Jack could do to affect him at all, let alone rattle him enough to skew his judgment. 'Ready for anything?' Jack tried once more, 'what are you, a boy scout?'

Nothing. No reaction at all. 'If you wish,' said Koga coldly, 'but I prefer to call myself a ninja.' Jack pursed his lips. 'Well, ninja boy,' he said, serious for the first time, 'I hope you are ready. I want this to be a proper battle.'

The huge, monstrous Weezing that Koga released onto the field answered Jack's question. It was twice as big as the one that had almost killed Jack months earlier and floated menacingly in the air, venting noxious gases into the air around it. The gases were joined by a shimmering purple aura so faint that it was barely there.

So faint, in fact, that Jack didn't even notice it. Nor did he notice the thin, finger like extension of the aura that quested through the air towards Dante. It connected lightly with him and for a millisecond the aura also shone around Jack. Then it melted into the air as if it had never existed, Jack still unaware.

The Weezing attacked now with a hail of toxic bombs that it belched from its jaws. Where they hit the floor the stone itself burnt, letting off acrid gas that choked the air, and where they hit Dante his skin charred and bubbled. Dante grimaced with pain as he rolled swiftly onto the ground, wiping off the toxic sludge.

In retaliation he released a huge gout of flame that engulfed the Weezing completely. The flames brought back the flickering shadows to the arena for a second before burning out and leaving the battered looking Weezing rising lazily through the air.

'Use sludge bomb again,' ordered Koga, still completely calm and emotionless even though his Pokémon was getting battered. The Weezing coughed up another ball of toxic sludge, but Dante dodged and hit the Weezing with another powerful flamethrower attack. This time the Weezing barely survived the orange column of roaring fire, it looked like it was walking wounded and drifted around erratically and uncontrollably.

'Smokescreen,' ordered Koga, his voice still deadpan. Jack was starting to wonder if this guy was a zombie because he showed so little emotion. The Weezing managed to release thick black smoke from the vents in its body before collapsing unconscious and the smoke began to cover the whole field in an opaque screen.

Just before the battlefield was hidden completely from view Jack saw injuries exactly the same as the ones the Weezing had suffered appear on Dante's body and he saw the Pokémon suddenly collapse. 'That was a low blow,' he said angrily, unwittingly repeating a sentence uttered to him not so long ago, 'destiny bond?'

Koga was unrepentant and released a four-winged purple bat with a mouth full of needle-like teeth. Jack matched the Crobat with Asrael, who promptly was swallowed by the thick smoke. It was very hard to order your Pokémon when they were completely invisible to you, and even harder when the opponents Pokémon was at well.

Jack could not see what was going on, he could only hear the occasionally grunts and clashes as their Pokémon fought. Suddenly the smokescreen was cleared by a thick gust of wind that also buffeted Asrael heavily and sent him sprawling to the ground. The Crobat darted through the air, moving very, very fast, and attacked again.

It brought two of its larger wings together heavily, compressing the air into a spike and sending it shearing towards Asrael. The spike of air hit Asrael with enough force to slash a deep gash in his body before the dragon retaliated with a flash of thunder.

The Crobat dodged easily and began to slice Asrael to ribbons with more and more spikes of air, darting out of the way whenever Asrael retaliated. Jack grimaced as his third plan failed and Asrael looked barely conscious. 'Poison fang,' Koga whispered, not even letting the emotions of excitement or triumph grace his face. He was really starting to creep Jack out.

The Crobat suddenly darted towards Asrael, moving in such fast and jerky movements that it was almost impossible to follow with your eye, and sunk its thin teeth through the gaps between his scales and deep into his flesh. Asrael let out a pained roar that crescendoed rapidly as poison was pumped into his veins. He began to thrash as the fast acting venom did its dirty work, his mouth frothing and foaming. Then he began to glow.

Never had Jack been so glad to see that familiar white light. He glanced over to Koga to see if the ninja was rattled by the turn of events. To Jack's annoyance he remained impassive. Gritting his teeth to stop himself from shouting something stupid, Jack watched with bated breath as his Pokémon evolved.

Once the white light receded a seven foot tall dragon Pokémon, actually smaller than its pre-evolution, stood fully-healed where the Dragonair had floated before. Immediately it released a veritable outpouring of electricity towards the Crobat, an outpouring that was impossible for the bat to avoid.

The electricity shocked through its body and nearly dropped the Pokémon in one attack. The Crobat was burnt hard but had still retained its incredible speed. It attacked again, launching itself at lightning speed towards Asrael. Asrael was now much faster and dodged fluidly out of the way, swiping sideways with a clawed paw.

The Crobat suddenly stopped and reversed, moving in a tight circle and landing on Asrael's tail. Before the dragon could even react it was sinking its teeth in and releasing a large quantity of poison into his bloodstream. Asrael fought the poison with all he had and shocked the Crobat once more.

The bat was too weak too electricity to even begin to resist Asrael's vastly improved power and lapsed into extreme unconsciousness, its body jerking spasmodically as electricity still sparked around its body. Burns also appeared in irregular spots all over its body. Smoke spiralled off the most violently burnt parts of his body.

Again Jack looked over at Koga to see if he was reacting. He was not surprised when he saw the gym leader standing there as still and impassive as a statue, his eyes cold and dead. Jack desperately wanted to make that face react.

Koga's last Pokémon was a living mound of toxic sludge. It left a trail of charred ground wherever it rested and the smell that it exuded was indescribably bad. Jack had to actually cover his nose to stop himself from gagging at the smell. Koga didn't even wrinkle his nose. Asrael attacked with a thick pillar of flame that washed over the mound of toxic sludge to almost no effect whatsoever.

Jack could almost feel Asrael's emotions now, such was the strength of their bond, and he could tell that the dragon was slightly bemused and at a loss of what to do. 'Asrael,' said Jack quietly, 'dragon rush could work here.' With Asrael's thanks echoing in his ears Jack watched as the Dragon began to glow lightly from within.

His eyes changed the most, changing into large pools of silver that reflected what was in his line of sight. He was breathing heavily from the poison, a fact that Jack had completely forgotten about in the heat of the moment, and the energy needed for dragon rush began to drain him.

Asrael's limbs grew heavy as the energy built up within him, draining his energy more and more until he could barely keep himself conscious. Without warning he collapsed. The combined effort from the poison and the dragon rush taking their toll in abrupt fashion.

Blood rushed to Jack's face as he looked towards Koga and saw no triumph in the man. It was as if he viewed Jack so low that beating one of his Pokémon didn't even a deserve a reaction. _You want to play it this way, then _thought Jack savagely _then I will see how you stand up against my second legendary_.

'You're awfully calm, Koga,' said Jack angrily, 'for a trainer who is going to be beaten.' Koga turned to face Jack and raised his eyebrows. 'You're awfully emotional for a trainer who thinks he's going to win,' he remarked shrewdly. Knowing he had been outmanoeuvred Jack swore angrily and released a thunderous mirage into the arena. 'Maybe this will get a reaction!'

Zapdos crowed as electricity arced around it, covering its body in a mini storm. 'Zapdos use thunder,' screamed Jack as he saw the Koga still wasn't reacting. The electricity built up and built up and built up. Jack couldn't believe the amount of electricity that was sparking around the creature's body, even if it was a legendary.

Zapdos easily dodged the barrage of toxic sludge ejected towards it and finally combined all the electricity into one devastating bolt. The bolt of thunder burnt straight through the Muk with so much force that it erupted into flames. The bolt of electricity was so hot that the stone below the creature began to bubble and run.

Koga returned his final Pokémon and handed Jack the Soul Badge. 'Well done Jack,' he said quietly, still cold and impassive, even when he was congratulating, 'your Pokémon are quiet something. Just one word of advice. Keep your emotions under control.' Jack clenched his jaw so hard that he felt the muscle begin to cramp. It took all of his self control to keep himself barely civil.

'Maybe I'm not an emotionless zombie like you,' Jack retorted. Koga said nothing, raising his eyebrows slightly. Jack exploded then. 'Why don't you fucking react?' he asked, raising his fist to strike the man round the head. Then he remembered he was a ninja and lowered it again. 'Good decision,' Koga said quietly before he melted into the walls and disappeared.

'Well done Jack,' said Indigo, 'you fought well. I know that man is annoying, but don't let him get under your skin. He's always been like that.' Jack nodded and turned to head out of the arena. 'Where are you going?' asked Indigo suddenly, 'Blaine is here to fight next.'

Jack healed his Pokémon in a high-tech looking machine in the corner before returning to the battlefield. He had another opponent; this one a fiery bald man dressed in a long white lab coat. 'Don't keep me waiting lad,' growled Blaine roughly, 'I haven't got all day. Let's get this over with so I can go home.'

Jack deliberately slowed down his pace and lingered over his Pokémon as if caught by indecision over which one to choose. In reality he already knew which Pokémon he would choose. 'Let's see....which one.....which one....' Jack saw Blaine's face flush dark red. 'Why, I have a mind to walk away right now.'

'OK,' Jack said finally, picking up Kitane's Pokéball, 'keep your hair on.....oh wait, you don't have any.' Jack almost chuckled at his own lame joke, though it seemed that he had hit a sore spot on Blaine. 'I got this working in the war,' he growled angrily, 'it was in a fire, trying to make a weapon and....' he stopped and released a huge, orange and red dragon with a large flame flickering on the tip of its tail.

'I don't have to explain myself to you,' he said gruffly, 'I only need to beat you.' Once Kitane had been released to face that Charizard Blaine wasted no time in attacking. 'Charizard use flamethrower.' Almost immediately Kitane was forced to withdraw into her shell as the scalding heat washed over her. 'Kitane use hydro pump,' ordered Jack as the Pokémon endured the heat.

Once the flame had petered out Kitane quickly emerged from her shell and let loose a viciously powerful jet of water. The water hit the Charizard full in the face, bloodying the area which it connected with as if it was a fist, and knocking it head over heels so it landed flat on its back.

'Kitane use body slam,' called Jack. Kitane didn't even let the Charizard rise before slamming herself heavily on its torso, tearing through its wing membrane with a clawed flipper. The Charizard roared in pain as its crushed ribs and torn wings sent agonised signals to its brain and thrashed madly to try and dislodge Kitane.

Kitane slapped the creature around the face hard before Blaine barked out an order. 'Charizard, use fire blast.' The ball of fire was in the Charizard's mouth before Kitane could even blink, and it didn't have far to travel before it reached its target.

Kitane had only begun heaving herself off when the ball of fire struck her straight in the face, scorching her skin savagely and burning her ears so badly that she was deafened. She instinctively withdrew back into her shell and stayed there while the Charizard picked itself up.

'Flame wheel,' ordered Blaine, his Pokémon instantly obliging. The fire on the Charizard's tail flared up and began to creep up its tail until it covered the whole of the dragon's body. Then the Pokémon smashed its shoulder into Kitane's shell, getting underneath and flipping her onto her back with one powerful movement.

Jack grimaced, Kitane's great weakness was getting flipped onto her back, and devised a plan to reverse her fortunes. 'Kitane, use hydro pump.' Kitane bobbed her head and drove the Charizard backwards with a powerful jet of water. The Pokémon was looking decidedly worse for wear now and was knocked to the floor much easier than before.

Still Kitane struggled to right herself, but the bony protuberances on her shell stopped her from being able to do it. 'Now use hydro pump once more,' commanded Jack, 'but this time on the ground.' Kitane looked at her trainer strangely but still carried out the order, letting loose a deluge of water onto the stone.

Jack's tactic worked wonders and the sheer force of the water helped Kitane to right herself. She turned to face the Charizard and was hit in the face by a huge ball of flame. Kitane screamed and immediately retaliated with a beam of ice. The ice beam cut through the fire and smashed into the Charizard's chest.

It was too weak to fight against the cold and the ice began to creep over its body, enveloping the creature like gravity-defying water. Within a minute the Charizard was completely frozen. All Jack needed to do was give the order. 'Crush it like an egg, Kitane,' said Jack triumphantly, 'you choose the method.'

His Pokémon communicated her assent deep into his mind before waddling off towards the frozen Charizard. It was strange how a creature so graceful in water could be so lumbering on land, but that was how nature worked. When she dragged herself to the Charizard Kitane paused for a second, as if considering the best way to end the battle. In the end she settled for something simple, not extravagant or flashy.

Her broad, powerful front flipper crushed with great force into the statue, shattering it into hundreds of uneven pieces. She then flopped to the ground, exhausted, withdrawing into her shell to recuperate her energy. Blaine recalled his Charizard and cursed angrily, his fingers hovering over two more Pokéballs. In one movement he scooped up one of the Pokéballs and threw it onto the field.

A Typhlosion appeared on the field, smaller, slimmer and of a lighter colouring than the one Jack saw used by Gold. Kitane moaned as she slowly withdrew from her shell and surveyed her next opponent. In Jack's mind her voice rang loudly. _Do I have to continue? _she asked _my face hurts and I'm really tired_. Jack just looked at her. _Do the best you can _he said finally _I'll recall you when you're finished. _

Kitane sent Jack a reproachful look before attacking psychically. Her eyes glowed as she struggled to crush the Typhlosion with her mind. She wasn't really powerful enough to execute that technique, but she did manage to make the Typhlosion fall to the floor in pain.

'Water pulse,' directed Jack as a plan walked into his mind. The rotating pulses of water hit the floored Typhlosion with some force and the creature writhed in pain as they struck it. It staggered to its feet and aimed a fiery punch in Kitane's direction. Blaine nodded in satisfaction as the punch connected with Kitane's face with a sickening thump and the Lapras let out a loud, agonised scream.

She withdrew her neck into her shell and lashed out wildly with her front flippers. The Typhlosion doubled up as the powerful limbs drove into its gut and all the air exploded out of its lungs. 'Come on Kitane,' encouraged Jack, 'you can do it. One more attack. Just one more attack.' To Jack's surprise Kitane's neck exploded out of her shell and she began to wreathe herself in a shroud of water.

The Typhlosion retreated slowly as the shroud increased in size and volume. Suddenly Kitane shot forwards with incredible speed and rammed the Typhlosion into the ground, flattening it completely. As the veil of water dissipated Jack saw that both Kitane and the Typhlosion couldn't fight on.

Kitane's face was burnt and bruised and she was barely hanging onto consciousness. The Typhlosion had been badly beaten in the short fight and couldn't stand even if Kitane wasn't crushing it into the floor.

Both the Pokémon trainers recalled their Pokémon – Jack's first and Blaine's second – and released two very sturdy looking replacements. Kabi was as huge and as intimidating as usual, and her opponent was a powerful looking fire Pokémon with a thick body, a spiked back and flaming shoulders.

Its most unique features where its arms. They were both round and yellow and looked like cannons. One, in fact, was a cannon with the bright smouldering flame cupped deep inside, however the other was a solid with three razor sharp claws hidden within. That fist looked like it could do some considerable damage.

'Use combo 1,' order Blaine smugly, his Pokémon leaping to obey him. Its cannon arm fired off a powerful ball of fire that connected with Kabi's torso and it leapt through the explosion of smoke to smash its second fist into Kabi's face.

The Snorlax wasn't letting it win that easily. She easily shrugged of the flame and batted the Magmortar's fist away with one contemptuous swat. As the Magmortar fell backwards she bulled into it head first, her thick skull driving into its large gut. The Pokémon twisted with the blow, striking a powerful punch onto Kabi's large shoulder and knocking her to the ground.

Whilst she was on the ground the Pokémon let loose another powerful flame onto her back, leaving a large burn mark but not really hurting her. Kabi showed surprising speed to twist quickly off the ground and punch the Magmortar directly in the face, throwing it over a metre backwards through the air.

'Knock it out with body slam,' instructed Jack and Kabi quickly heaved herself to her feet and ran – or waddled very fast – towards the fallen Magmortar. She fell on its prone form like a falling tree and crushed it into the ground with ease.

As she got up Kabi gave Jack a thumbs up. The Magmortar wasn't moving, though its eyes were still open so it wasn't unconscious. Kabi waited for the Magmortar to move, whether out of sportsmanship or curiosity Jack wasn't sure, but the creature wouldn't oblige. It couldn't physically move.

'Put it out of its misery,' directed Jack as Blaine struggled to contain his anger on the other side of the arena, the man's face turning an unhealthy beetroot purple. Kabi nodded and drew up her fist, energy crackling around it.

It really was a mega punch. It actually left a crater in the ground. It also annihilated the Magmortar completely, doing a lot more than knocking it out. But, most importantly, it gave Jack his seventh and penultimate gym badge.

Blaine practically threw the badge at Jack before walking away. He was so angry that he abandoned all etiquette, refusing to shake hands or congratulate the winner and stalking off before Jack could even thank him. The boy shrugged, pocketing the badge and turning to Indigo. 'Will I be fighting Giovanni now?' He was eager.

To Jack's surprise Indigo shook his head. 'There is no need, my boy. As you probably know a badge can be given out for other reasons as well. I have pointed out to Giovanni that he owes you big time.' Jack scrunched his brow as he struggled to think how Giovanni owed him. 'How does he owe me?' Indigo looked around furtively before leaning closer and whispering something in Jack's ear.

Jack's eyebrows nearly buried themselves in his hairline. 'That much?' His voice was incredulous. 'A badge is the _least _I deserve. Fucking hell!' Indigo nodded and pressed a badge into his hand. 'I think that this is probably worth at lot less than one billion dollars, but it is all you're getting.' Jack pocketed the badge. 'I would actually prefer the one billion dollars, but....I'll settle for this.'

Indigo clapped him on the shoulders. 'Good man. Good man.' Jack had completed the badges. 'I have finished,' he muttered, his voice full of barely suppressed triumph.

'No you haven't,' said Indigo quietly, 'a trainer's journey is never ending. You must know that.' Jack didn't answer.


	24. Uprising

If you actually sat down and thought about it, Indigo's plan was quite clever. For his plan to work he needed all of the trainers in the tournament out in the open and all in one place. Where better to do that than the opening ceremony, where all the trainers congregated, without fail. If you were a trainer taking part in the tournament you had to attend the opening ceremony; but why wouldn't you? Fireworks, alcohol, good food where but a few of the perks of the opening ceremony and people flocked to it.

So he bought the rights to build and design the building for the opening ceremony and spent months designing it to fit in with his plan. Indigo also bought the rights to aesthetically design the island, and that job included planting forests, erecting walls and populating the locality with Pokémon to train in. He practically designed the whole island, down to every last, intricate detail, to fulfil its designate purpose in his eyes. In other words, it was a death trap.

The Gold Conference took place on a one of the many mountainous islands of the Orange Island chain – a different one each year to keep the mystery about the Conference. The island for that particular year had a very steep mountain and Indigo built the building for the opening ceremony there.

There was only one entrance to the building, which, if blocked, would trap whoever was inside. It was also very difficult to blast your way out. Though the building looked like it was made from marble on the outside, it was reinforced by incredible strong and thick metal within. Structurally the building could easily survive an earthquake and a nuclear bomb at the same time, so they could easily take a hyper beam or two from Pokémon trying to escape.

The building was also separated from the main arena by a dense forest which was almost impossible to easily navigate your way through with its thick, thorny vines obstructing the paths and the almost impenetrable canopy above. The forest could also easily hide an army or two and no-one would be any wiser.

It was all done very subtly though, and even when everyone was congregated for the start of the opening ceremony no-one could even begin to comprehend what would happen. Even the representatives of the league, Gold and the whole Elite Four to name but a few, did not imagine that the deed would happen now.

As people milled around inside the extravagant stone dome designed by Indigo, drinking champagne from crystal glasses, pinching snacks from the crystal trays held by smartly dressed waiters, listening to music played by suited choirs from their suede chairs and chatting interestedly, amiable and with some excitement about the battles to come, only one person in the whole room had any inkling of the danger to come.

Jack Lovata. And he was very, very tense. Jack felt the whole place was a death trap as soon as he entered and his eyes darted suspiciously around for any danger that might be lurking in the shadows. He could find nothing, but that did not alleviate his growing paranoia.

He was the one who first saw it, but by then it was far too late. A large, living shadow that had enveloped the whole ceiling in a swirling inky blackness. Red eyes shone eerily from the middle. Jack's mouth hung open as he looked around at the unaware trainers. He looked to find Gold and practically sprinted over to the man.

'It's happening now,' he whispered, his mouth dry. 'Look up.' Gold looked up and his face paled, his mouth falling open. 'Holy shit!' he swore as he regarded the phenomena on the ceiling. 'Giratina, Lord of the Dead. No wonder that Pokémon beat Red and Green simultaneously. Lance, Agatha, Bruno, Lorelei look up!'

As the members of the Elite Four looked up and swore Indigo stood up on a gold carpeted stage erected directly in the middle of the dome. Gradually all the trainers fell silent as Indigo looked around with an affable smile on his face. 'Thank you,' he said quietly, 'thank you all very much for coming.' His smile began to twist so it looked more evil than affable.

'Before the opening ceremony I would like to say a few words, as a sponsor and as the designer of this building. I have waited a long time for this chance.' He paused for a second, seeming to almost compose himself for his speech, though Jack knew it was all show. He was dreading what the man was going to say.

'I have to say thank you once again,' began Indigo, 'for your sheer, trusting stupidity. You disgust me, all of you, but you are powerful trainers and I need that power. So I am going to tell you that you will all die in the next hour. In about five minutes a horde of the most powerful wild Pokémon you have ever seen will stampede in here and attack you. You will release your Pokémon to fight. And I will absorb all the delicious power you have, the power that makes you powerful Pokémon trainers. There is, of course, a way you can stop this. And I will tell it to you because I want to see you squirm. You can refuse to fight and let yourself get ripped apart by the Pokémon. You will die, but I won't absorb your power. Or you can fight to save your life and have the power sucked right out of you. It is your decision.'

As the trainers stood there in stunned silence, wondering whether it was a very poor joke, Indigo held up his hands and the shadow descended from the ceiling. It enveloped him and returned to its place. The only difference was that a small head was now poking out from within the shadows, grinning obscenely.

Then there was a huge crash as the door was charged down and barely held. Indigo's voice rang out, distorted and twisted. 'Oh, it seems my charges are here a little early. Enjoy your deaths. I certainly will.' His cackle was the most chilling thing that Jack had ever heard, and he had heard Mewtwo's insane voice echoing deep within his mind.

It made all the hair on Jack's body stand up on end, quivering, and it set alight a deep ache in the roots of his teeth. Then that fear was banished as a huge Machamp burst through the door, overturning a thirty foot long table with one swipe of its hand, and Jack's trainer's instinct took control.

As more and more fully evolved Pokémon crashed into the building the air began to fill with the cries of Pokémon and humans. Almost immediately each trainer released six of their own Pokémon and the battles begun. The lead Machamp was skewered by the rotating horn of a hulking Rhyperior.

The Pokémon then proceeded to barrel to the door, flattening any wild Pokémon in the way, and block it with a huge, think plank of wood ripped from one of the tables. It placed its huge, rock plating shoulder against the plank and braced itself, digging huge back claws into the ground. Jack watched as its body began to shake from the strain of holding the door against whatever immense force was shoving from outside.

The trainer then decided to react and ordered Kabi to help the other Pokémon. The huge Snorlax joined the Rhyperior at the door, a nod of recognition the only greeting received, and began to lend her incredible strength to the matter.

Jack watched in horror as both Pokémon began to shake from the strain and actually began to get pushed back by whatever was behind the door. Suddenly they were both tossed backwards as if they were leaves and their assailant was revealed within the door.

_There you are Jack Lovata _screamed an insane voice in his head _I was really disappointed that I didn't get to kill you_. Even the wild Pokémon gave this creature a wide berth as it stalked into the room, fixing its purple eyes directly on Jack. The trainer let out an unwilling scream as the creature knocked him to the floor with one flick of its mind, winding him quite badly with only a weak attack

Jack crawled back to his feet and ordered all of his Pokémon to swamp the abomination. 'Everyone,' he screamed, somewhat wildly, 'attack this creature. It's incredibly powerful, an abomination.' As the multitude of Pokémon swarmed towards it Mewtwo smiled.

_Large Luxray jumping, yellow eyes glowing with liquid thunder, large teeth bared in anger, sharp front claws slashing through the air. A flick of the mind knocks it flying out of the game. _

_Rampaging Donphan, large, white tusks, tough skin and armoured trunk, rolling like an avalanche. One blow to the tail stops it. A psychic swipe injures it. A powerful kick knocks it out._

_Round footed Hitmontop spinning, spinning, spinning on its head, its wiry arms held out for balance, fists clenched. It launches a flying kick. One look freezes it in place. Another crushes it like a bug._

_Sleek Houndoom, curving, curling horns, whipping, arrowhead tail, glowing red eyes and needle sharp teeth. Hot fire licking voraciously through the air. A barrier blocks the fire. One ball of psychic energy right to the face. Explosion of blood._

_Ballooning Drifblim. Floating lazily through the air, cloud-topped and button-eyed. Four fins waving carelessly around. A tortured shadow ball thrown. One flick knocks the ball away. An athletic kick throws it into the air. Concentration crushes it with ease._

_Walking flower. A Vileplume. Large red petals scattering itching, poisoning powder. Acid and sun scorch towards it. Quick dodge avoids the attack. A scythe of energy cuts through its body. Blood pours out._

_Where is Jack Lovata? Over there, staring. His Snorlax, large and strong, punches. It has grown much, much stronger. The punch hurts, flick of the mind retaliates. It is tough, it punches again. Block with the tail. Psychic sword drives it into the ground._

_His Dragonite comes, small wings, thick tail, small horn. Hyper beam is powerful. It also is a lot stronger. Strong barrier blocks the beam, psychic punch knocks it to the floor. Teleport behind it. Foot to the back of the head. Prepare to die._

_Damn! Mr. Mime. So small, frail and stupid. Hail of psychic balls. One sweep dissipates them all. Thrust towards him. His barrier is strong, but shatters eventually. He's fast and dodges. Attacks again. Tries to crush. Yeah right._

_Too many Pokémon. Lapras. Young but powerful. It is new. Thick shell, powerful flippers and strong mind. Cannot enter, walls are too thick. Psychic punch knocks her backwards. So much water coming. Teleport dodge. Another scythe of power. Mr. Mime blocks it. Unfair._

_Heatran intervenes. It has come into its power. Very powerful. So much power. Barrier fails. Teleport next to it. Kick, kick, punch, tail. It's hardy. Iron skull deals out hard blows. On the floor, towering over. He will fail. Psychic thrust knocks it onto its side. Still it gets up. Shit! Too powerful._

_Zapdos attacks. Shining, crackling wings and sharp, pecking beak. So much thunder. Burning, stinging, hurting. Muscles failing. Explosion of energy. Pokémon driven back. Still Zapdos attacks. Crush it. Zapdos screeches and falls. Have it now. Prepare to die, legendary._

_Regice. Who is this? This man is rude. Interrupting the fight. Barrier repulses the ice beam. Teleport and psychic blow. Regice falls to the floor. You will die now, ice Golem. Man is too calm. He must have a plan._

_Gleaming Registeel, slow and metal. Claws rake forward. Sharp pain, blood. Superpower explosion. Thrown backwards. Pain fills everything. They are too many. Cannot be defeated. Vision fogs over._

_Psychic explosion drives them back. But they come again. Tired. So tired. Regirock punches down. Shoulder shatters. Nothing can be done. Vision narrows and narrows and narrows. Blackness rises up. One more attack. Too tired. Regirock punches again. Neck shatters. Dead._

Mewtwo fell from Regirock's final punch as if in slow motion. Jack couldn't believe how many Pokémon it took out before it was subdued. It was like whirling death. He watched as it scythed through everything. Only co-operation with Brandon finished it. And it was only one Pokémon. There were many more.

Mewtwo did the damage. It defeated so many Pokémon that there were gaps. Trainers still thought that the rules of engagement applied. They thought that the wild Pokémon would only attack their Pokémon, not them. They were wrong. The first kill happened without warning and would be imprinted in the brain of everyone who witnessed it.

The trainer was young, only a year older than Jack at the most, and his Pokémon were one of the weakest there. They could not stop the enraged Granbull bulling through them. They could not stop its brutal punch to their trainer's stomach, a punch that broke four of his ribs and gave him severe internal bleeding. They could not stop it driving both of its huge fangs through the teenager's body, lifting up the dead and mangled boy and roaring its triumph to the world. They did take their revenge though. The Granbull did not live on much longer. Nor did they for that matter. Luckily kills like that weren't so common. The trainers there were skilled and powerful and could defend themselves. It was only th

e very weakest who were picked off, and even they were didn't go down without putting up a fight.

Indigo watched from within the enveloping darkness as Mewtwo fell, gaining in power. The trainer's could not see the pulsating globules of energy that he was drawing from them, but if they could he was sure they would be as entranced by the liquid power as he was.

Each ball was so unique, so different and delicious that tasting them all at the same time was almost too much pleasure for him to bear. And, too his delight, everything was going better than expected. Most of the trainers there yielded a very high count of energy. Mewtwo had helped draw that from them.

Jack Lovata especially was releasing huge amounts of energy. Ridiculously huge amounts. The man Brandon too. He released even more energy than the boy. Just those two together could provide him with enough power to rule the whole of Kanto. And it wasn't just those two.

He had so many more trainers to leech energy from and soon he would have so much power than no-one would stand before him. No Pokémon could defeat him in combat, let alone any human. He would carve his palace once again on the Indigo Plateau and rule up from high like he did so many hundreds of years ago.

Jack huddled next to Brandon as their Pokémon fought the hordes rushing through that door. 'How do we defeat Indigo?' whispered Jack. 'That's what we have to do otherwise this will never stop.' Brandon was nodding. 'That's true, but it seems impossible. I've seen the stray attacks hit the shadow, but nothing's happened. Even a stray hyper beam fired straight up was just absorbed. It's too powerful.'

Jack's mind whirred as he went over what Brandon had just said, and what he had seen. 'You're right,' he said slowly, 'but I think that he might have one weak point. The only time a shield was erected to deflect a stray attack was when the attack was heading right for Indigo's head, which sticks out of the shadows. Maybe he can be killed if you hit him there....'

Brandon's eyes lit up with new hope. 'Fucking hell you might just be right,' he exclaimed. 'I have a plan now. We will need all of our Pokémon to do it.' Brandon hastily scanned the battlefield until he saw each one of their Pokémon. 'Good, none of them have been defeated. Can you get all your Pokémon together and ask them to attack Indigo's face, however I want the attacks to be dazzling and blinding to him. When the shield is erected to deflect them I will have my Regis fire zap cannon at his face and fry him.' Jack nodded appreciatively at the plan. It made sense. It could even work. 'Let's get going then.

The plan took longer than either of the trainers thought it would. It took them five minutes to assemble all their Pokémon together, and another five to destroy all of the rampaging wild Pokémon near them.

In that time Indigo had absorbed even more energy from the trainers. Energy that could not be released once it was absorbed. Those trainers were without it forever, so their career as trainers was effectively ended. Though their Pokémon may be still strong, they had lost their ability to train their Pokémon well and make a plan of battle. They were mediocre now.

Jack's theory was absolutely correct. When his Pokémon attacked towards Indigo's face a barrier was erected to repulse the thunderbolt, the fire blast, the two hyper beams, the psybeam and the ice beam. The barrier managed to repulse all six of the attacks, though whether it was with ease or not Jack couldn't tell, with a large, dazzling outpouring of light that blinded anyone looking upwards.

With this distraction Brandon's Regis released ball after ball of bundled electricity towards Indigo. With the huge explosion of light no-one could actually tell what was happening on the ceiling as the shadow had been temporarily hidden from view, so Brandon and Jack had to wait with bated breath to see if their plan had worked. They didn't have to wait long.

The scream was ridiculously loud, and at that sound everything stopped. The shadow was whirling and writhing even more, however that was nothing compared to the convulsions that were gripping Indigo. All his muscles clenched and unclenched involuntarily as the electricity shocked through his system, burning his body to a crisp.

His eyes were the first thing to frazzle, but soon that was followed by everything else. The electricity also ran through the shadow which immediately fled, ejecting Indigo so the man hung in the air for a second before plunging, wrapping itself up so it shrunk to the size of a basketball then smashing through the ceiling and out into the air outside.

And Indigo plunged and plunged, his body screaming in agony from the burns, and he hit the ground. If he hadn't been dead before he hit the ground, he was certainly dead afterwards. There wasn't much left of his body at all.

That was when the wild Pokémon went totally insane. Jack and Brandon had thought that they would leave or be easily overwhelmed once their master was defeated, but in fact the opposite happened. Battles that the trainer's Pokémon were easily winning suddenly became a lot harder as the Pokémon were gripped by a berserker fury; a killing fury.

The next few seconds and minutes were not easy or pretty. The deaths that had been rare before suddenly multiplied as the trainers realised the effects of their energy been drained and the wild Pokémon suddenly gained a second wind. In the first five minutes twelve trainers were killed and their Pokémon killed soon afterwards – because once a trainer was killed their Pokémon were instantly released from their Pokéballs and could then be killed.

Jack and Brandon tried to get the upper hand with their Pokémon but it was like fighting the tide. It could be stopped for a second but it could never be halted. Soon even they were getting driven back. However hard their Pokémon fought, and they fought _very, very _hard, they could not defeat all the Pokémon. Every one that was defeated was instantly replaced by another one and soon the sheer number began to take their toll.

It was out of the corner of his eye that Jack saw it. A beautiful blonde trainer's Machamp was dragged to the ground and there was an opening. A hugely muscled Hariyama, seven foot tall and with huge, thick hands bounded through the gap and raised its fist to punch the blonde. Only then did Jack realise that the blonde trainer was Lelana.

'Lelana,' screamed Jack, 'duck!' Lelana looked at him and dropped to the floor, narrowly avoiding the destructive thrust that powered straight over its head. The Hariyama looked down and tensed its huge shoulders for the death blow.

Then something hit it in the back of the legs and brought it crashing to the ground. The same thing landed punch after punch on its broad back, all to no effect, for Jack Lovata was nowhere near strong enough to even hurt the mountainous Hariyama before him.

Jack didn't even know what he was doing, he just needed to save her. He got caught up in the adrenalin rush and only realised what he had got himself into when the Hariyama swiped him away with one hand. The blow broke his ribs and he felt the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

Another blow smashed into his back and he screamed as he felt something snap. The boy's vision began to narrow as consciousness slipped away from him. The last thing he saw and felt was a sickening, rupturing pain in the back of his head before and the obscenely grinning Hariyama standing over him before everything went black, and cold.

Somewhere above him six Pokémon went insane with rage. He didn't care. He was going somewhere else. Somewhere better. Somewhere higher.


	25. Epilogue: Ten Years

A paper is sitting open on your table. You go over to it and an article catches your unwilling eye. You know what that article is about. That incident. Ten years ago. You don't want to think back to it. You don't dare to think back to it. However some morbid fascination draws you towards it. To read it. You look down and look at the title. It is simply called _Ten Years_. You read.

_I cannot believe it has been ten years since that day. Ten years...._

_Today marks the opening of the new Battle Frontier. It is a place for any trainer from any region who has completed the Elite Four to come and challenge the seven most powerful trainers in the world. It is an engineering marvel; a fantastic achievement. Many of those who go there are the up and coming young trainers, young trainers who don't realise why this idea has been realised. They don't know what happened on that day ten years ago. They don't understand._

_Ten years ago, on the tenth anniversary of the opening of the first Gold Conference, everything changed because of one megalomaniac. It was the opening ceremony of the tenth Gold Conference and everyone had high hopes for a fantastic championship. The standard had been getting consistently higher each year, and that year was no exception. One man had a different plan though. He planned to harness the power of those young trainers and use it to rise to power, killing them or crippling them in the process._

_I was there. I was one of those young trainers who qualified for the Conference. What I saw will haunt me forever. Even now, ten years after the event, I struggle to put what I saw into words. Because that means remembering that day. I don't want to remember that day. I want to keep it banished in that small hole in my mind where I never visit, where I relegated it to in the days and weeks after when I struggled to cope with my grief. However I feel compelled to put it into words; to make everyone understand what it was like and to honour the memory of those who died that fateful day._

_For those who survived, they will remember a bloodbath. First it was the blood of Pokémon mingling on the floor. That is never a nice thing, everyone knows that. But they don't know what it was like when the blood of humans began to flow. When Pokémon ripped apart trainers with their bare hands, coating the floor with their insides and lifeblood, that is a real tragedy. When a Pokémon watches its trainer killed in front of it then goes insane, killing everything around it and eventually itself, that is a real tragedy. When you watch your best friend killed in front of your eyes trying to save you, that is a real tragedy._

_But what I remember most is seeing him die. A hero. A friend. When you pass the statue at the entrance to the Battle Frontier please take a look and memorise that face. That is the face of Jack Lovata. I watched this teenager defeat the megalomaniac, saving as all from a life of tyranny. I watched as he turned round and saw me attacked. I watched as he warned me and began running towards me. I was helpless and vulnerable and I watched him tackle a Pokémon much stronger than him to save my life. And I watched him die in front of me, battered, bloodied and broken by the huge fists of that same Pokémon._

_So remember, when you pass that small, unassuming statue, what happened before. Remember not only him, but the generation of trainers that were robbed so cruelly of their life. The Golden Generation, as they are rightly and affectionately named, crippled on that day. So please people, save a thought for those who have gone, and offer a prayer or a flower when you pass. And if you're a trainer reading this, remember the sacrifice of your kin. This year, when you fight, you fight for them._

_Lelana Fuller_

_Viridian Times_

You put the paper down, your morbid fascination well and truly piqued. You look up and see a blue flash in the sky and try and put those thoughts out of your mind. You try and focus on that blue flash and place a hand on a Pokéball. You cannot think about the past when the future is waiting. Articuno is waiting. They are waiting.

* * *

**Author Notes: And it is finished. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing this. Though this story is finished, please don't forget to R & R. Any reviews are always fantastically, amazingly welcome and I will take into account any suggestions to improve my work for future writings.**


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